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THE        LIFE 


COMMODORE  OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY. 


BY 


ALEX.    SLIDELL   MACKENZIE,    U.S.N. 


,K    TWO     VOIVP^^^^^ 


'^IFO^'& 


NEW-YORK: 
BARPER  &  BROTHERS,  82  CLIFF-STREET. 

18  40. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1840,  by 

Harper  &  Brothers, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  Southern  District  of  New- York. 


PREFACE. 


The  following  work  was  undertaken  at  the  re- 
quest of  Doctor  Grant  Champlin  Perry,  the  eldest 
son  of  Commodore  Perry,  who,  perceiving  in  the 
Naval  History  of  Mr.  J.  F.  Cooper  an  attempt  to 
diminish  that  admiration  with  which  the  people  of 
the  United  States  have  been  accustomed  to  regard 
the  memory  of  Perry,  with  a  view  of  raising  the 
standing  of  his  second  in  command  in  the  battle 
on  Lake  Erie,  was  desirous  that  a  full  account 
should  be  pubHshed  of  his  father's  life  and  services. 
This  request  having  been  willingly  assented  to,  he 
accordingly  forwarded  to  the  writer  the  papers  of 
his  father,  consisting  almost  entirely  of  public  cor- 
respondence and  log-books  of  various  cruises,  of 
which,  however,  the  series  was  incomplete,  and  a 
vast  mass  of  documents  relating  to  the  battle  of 
Lake  Erie,  the  whole  forming  rather  materials  for 
writing  the  history  of  that  event  than  the  life  of 
Commodore  Perry.  The  writer  has  had  no  ac- 
cess, either  directly  or  through  extracts,  to  Perry's 
correspondence  with  his  immediate  family,  which 


IV  P  E  E  F  A  C  E, 

would  have  afforded  not  only  great  assistance  in 
carrying  on  the  thread  of  the  narrative,  but  also  a 
better  insight  than  could  be  otherwise  obtained 
into  his  thoughts,  his  feelings,  and  affections. 
While  reverencing  the  motive  which  led  to  this 
sacred  treasuring  from  the  public  eye  of  all  that 
remains  of  such  a  husband  and  father,  he  cannot 
but  regret,  as  his  biographer,  the  want  of  access  to 
such  valuable  sources  of  information. 

Compelled  to  seek  materials  when  he  had  be- 
lieved that  his  only  task  would  be  to  make  use  of 
those  which,  through  a  long  series  of  years,  had 
been  collected,  the  writer  addressed  himself  forth- 
with to  the  living  friends  and  companions  of  Com- 
modore Perry,  and  to  others  who  could  lend  him 
assistance  in  his  undertaking.  He  has  been  kind- 
ly and  generously  aided  by  most  of  those  to  whom 
he  applied.  To  the  sister  of  Commodore  Perry, 
nearest  his  own  age,  he  is  indebted  for  materials 
used  in  detaihng  the  incidents  of  his  early  life, 
and  her  own  words  have  occasionally  been  incor- 
porated in  the  narrative.  To  Lieutenant  A.  A. 
Harwood,  of  the  Navy,  a  resident  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood in  which  Commodore  Perry  was  born, 
he  is  under  great  obligations  for  anecdotes  of  the 
commodore's  early  life,  obtained  among  the  com- 
panions of  his  youth,  and  for  a  description  of  the 
family  homestead.  From  Commander  Stephen 
Champlin  and  Mr.  Thomas  Brownell  he  has  re- 


PREFACE. 


ceived  personal  explanations  on  various  mmor 
points  relating  to  the  Lake  Erie  squadron,  con- 
cerning which  the  printed  and  written  documents 
were  obscure  or  silent.     To  Doctor  Usher  Par- 
sons, of  Providence,  the  only  medical  officer  in  the 
Lake  Erie  squadron  who  was  able  to  peform  duty 
during  and  immediately  after  the  battle,  and  who 
was  subsequently  surgeon  of  the  Java  when  under 
Perry's  command,  the  writer  has  to  acknowledge 
himself  under  great  obUgations  for  a  variety  of 
facts  communicated  in  a  series  of  interesting  notes, 
and  just  and  intelligent  opinions  with  regard  to 
the  character,  manners,  and  acquirements  of  Perry. 
He  has  also  to  acknowledge  the  valuable  commu- 
nication he  has  received   from   the  Honourable 
John  Chambers,  of  Kentucky,  an  aiddecamp  of 
General  Harrison  during  the  campaign  of  1813, 
containing  several  interesting  anecdotes  of  Perry, 
which,  with  little  change  of  the  language  in  which 
they  were  communicated,  will  be  found  incorpo- 
rated in  the  narrative.     In  addition  to  the  various 
facts  illustrative  of  the  battle  of  Lake  Erie,  and 
of  Captain  EUiott's  course  towards  Commodore 
Perry,  subsequent  to  his  succeeding  him  in  the 
command,  obtained  from  the  highly  intelligent  and 
interesting  letters  of  Samuel  Hambleton,  Esq.,  pur- 
ser of  the  Lawrence,  to  Commodore  Perry,  Mr. 
Hambleton  has  kindly  placed  at  the  writer's  dis- 
posal all  the  letters  of  Commodore  Perry  to  him- 
A 


VI  PREFACE. 

self,  during  a  long  period  of  friendly  correspond- 
ence ;  and  has,  moreover,  obligingly  favoured  him 
with  extracts  from  his  journal  when  on  Lake  Erie, 
and  readily  answered  the  various  questions  ad- 
dressed to  him.  From  tis  intelligent  friend,  C. 
0.  Handy,  Esq.,  secretary  of  Commodore  Perry 
when  on  board  the  Java,  and  subsequently  purser 
of  the  John  Adams  on  his  last  cruise,  the  writer 
has  received  the  heartiest  assistance  and  valua- 
ble critical  aid  in  the  prosecution  of  his  underta- 
king. 

The  writer  has  made  occasional  use  of  the  val- 
uable life  of  Perry  published  in  1821,  by  the  Hon- 
ourable John  M.  Niles ;  also  of  the  masterly  and 
beautiful  sketch  on  the  same  subject,  from  the  pen 
of  Mr.  Washington  Irving,  in  the  Analectic  Mag- 
azine, and  of  various  other  works  tending  to  throw 
a  hght  on  the  subject ;  he  has  also  carefully  con- 
sulted Niles's  Register,  and  a  few  contemporary 
newspapers.  With  few  exceptions,  however,  the 
present  life  is  entirely  written  from  original  docu- 
ments and  materials  collected  expressly  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  the  utmost  care  has  been  taken  in  the 
verification  of  the  facts.  With  regard  to  the  tone 
of  the  book,  it  has  been  unavoidably  rendered 
more  controversial  than  the  taste  of  the  writer 
would  have  dictated ;  but  the  assaults  made  by 
Captain  Elliott  against  the  character  of  Commo- 
dore Perry  h^ve  been  so  notorious,  and  the  f^f^ 


PREFACE.  Til 

tempts  of  Mr.  Cooper  to  dignify  this  gentleman  at 
Commodore  Perry's  expense  so  obvious,  that  the 
life  of  Perry  would  have  been  incomplete  had  the 
writer  failed  to  make  use  of  the  ample  materials 
before  him  to  set  the  question  between  these  two 
officers  effectually  at  rest. 
Tarrytown,  October  19,  1840. 


CONTENTS 

OF 

THE   FIRST   VOLUME. 
CHAPTER  I. 


Page 


Introduction. — Ancestors  of  Perry.  —  Emigra- 
tion of  Edmund  Perry. — H^  settles  in  Ply- 
mouth.— Driven  away  by  Religious  Persecu- 
tion.— Removes  to  Narragansett. — Account  of 
Perry^s  Father. — He  serves  through  the  Rev- 
olutionary War. — Is  captured. — Confined  on 
"board  the  Jersey. — Is  released. — Recaptured. 
— Escapes. — Conclusion  of  War. — Becomes 
Master  of  a  Merchantman. — Marries. — BirtU 
of  Oliver  Hazard  Perry. — Anecdotes  of  hiis  " 
Boyhood. — Is  sent  to  School. — His  various 
Teachers.  —  His  Family  settles  in  Newport, 
— Becomes  a  Piipil  of  Mr.  Eraser. — Suffers 
from  his  Irascibility. — Firmness  of  Mrs.  Per- 
ry.— He  improves  in  his  Studies. — Is  taught 
Navigation. — Proves  an  apt  Scholar. — Forms 
a  taste  for  Reading. — French  Aggressions  on 
our  Commerce. — Measures  for  its  Protection, 
— Creation  of  a  Navy. — Oliver's  Father  ap- 
pointed Post-captain.  —  Builds  the  General 
Greene. — Oliver  left  in  charge  of  the  Family, 
— Conceives  the  idea  of  entering  the  Navy, — 
Gives  reasons  for  his  choice  .....  13 
A2 


VI  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  n. 


Page 


Oliver  enters  as  a  Midshipman  on  board  the  Gen 
eral  Greene. — Cruise  to  the  West  Indies. — 
Return  to  Newport.  —  Second  Cruise  to  the 
West  Indies. — Ship  ordered  to  St.  Domingo, 
—  Co-operation  with  Tov^saint,  —  Blockade 
and  Capture  of  Jaquemel. — Cruise  round  the 
Island, — Part  of  Crew  taken  out  by  CommO' 
dore  Talbot.  —  Ship  ordered  to  the  Missis^ 
sippi.  —  Rencounter  with  a  British  line-of. 
battle  Ship.  —  Spirited  conduct  of  Captain 
Perry.  —  Return  to  Neurport.  —  Peace  with 
France. — Reduction  of  the  Navy. — Captain 
Perry  left  out. — Oliver  retained, — Tripolitan 
War, — Early  operations. — Oliver  embarks  in 
the  Adams. — She  saibfor  the  Mediterranean, 
— Employed  in  Blockading. — Gives  Convoy 
up  the  Mediterranean,  —  Visits  Spain  and 
Italy.  —  Arrives  off  Tripoli.  —  Boat  Expedi- 
tion,— Blockade. — Attempted  Negotiation,  — 
Squadron  returns  to  Gibraltar.  —  Perry  re- 
turns home, — His  Occupations  and  Character    39 

CHAPTER  m. 

Prosecution  of  Tripolitan  War  under  Preble, — 
Perry* s  anxiety  to  take  part  in  it. — Equipment 
of  four  Frigates, — Perry  ordered  to  the  Con., 
stellation, — Joins  her  at  Washington. — Min- 
gles in  Society, —  Sails  for  the  Mediterranean, 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

.^^^  Page 

—  Prehle  superseded. —  The  War  loses  its 
chivalrous  Character. — Expedition  of  General 
Eaton.  —  Its  partial  Success.  —  Perry  trans- 
f erred  to  the  Nautilus.  —  Commodore  Rodg. 
ers  succeeds  to  the  Command.  —  Concludes 
Peace. — Visits  Tunis. —  Confirms  the  friend'- 
ship  of  that  Power. — The  Nautilus  visits  AU 
giers.  —  A  change  of  Administration  in  that 
Regency.  —  Visit  to  Gibraltar.  —  Perry  re- 
moved to  the  Constitution. — His  Character  as 
an  Officer.  —  Returns  home  in  the  Essex, — 
Description  of  him  by  a  Shipmate   ....     62 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Perry  resumes  his  Studies  at  Newport. — Falls 
in  Love. — Is  employed  in  building  Gunboats. 
— Is  engaged  to  be  Married. — Sails  for  New- 
York  with  Flotilla. — Employed  in  Protection 
of  the  Harbour. — Attack  of  the  Leopard  on 
the  Chesapeake. — Perry^s  Feelings  on  the  oc- 
casion. — British  Spoliations  on  our  Commerce. 
— Our  inability  to  protect  it. — Perry  ordered 
to  build  more  Gunboats. — Appointed  to  com- 
mand the  Revenge. — Attached  to  Commodore 
Rodgers^s  Squadron. — Ordered  to  Washing- 
ton to  refit. — Sails  for  Charleston. — Cruises 
on  Southern  Coast. — Encounter  with  a  British 
Sloop. — Expects  an  Engagement. — Prepares 
to  board.  —  Pacific  Termination.  —  Returns 
to  Charleston.  —  Proceeds  to  New-York. — 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 


Pago 


Receives  Instructions  from  Commodore  JRodg- 
ers. — Is  ordered  to  Newport.  —  Engaged  in 
a  Survey  of  the  Sound.  —  Shipwreck  of  the 
Revenge. — Ineffectual  efforts  to  save  her.  — 
Crew  saved. — Court  of  Inquiry. — Perry  hon- 
ourably acquitted. — Furloughed. — Married    .     76 

CHAPTER  V. 

State  of  our  relations  with  Belligerants. — Na- 
poleon repeals  his  predatory  Decrees, — Con- 
tinued Hostility  of  England.  —  War  against 
our  Commerce. — Impressment  of  our  Seamen, 
—  War  with  England.  —  Perry  applies  for 
Sea-service.  —  Appointed  to  command  New- 
port Flotilla. — Zeal  with  which,  he  enters  on 
the  service. — His  Discipline.— Style  of  Cor- 
respondence. —  Exercise  of  his^  Flotilla.  — 
Capture  of  the  Guerriere.  .rr-.  Lieutenant  Mor- 
ris posted. — Dissatisfaction  of  the  Service. — 
Perry  approves  of  it.-"— His  Conduct  towards 
Mr.  Morris.  —  Loss  of  Lieutenant  Blodgett, 
— Renewed  application  for  Sea-service. — Of- 
fers his  Service,^  to  Commodore  Chaunceyfor 
the  Lakes.  —  Capture  of  the  Macedonian.  — 
Proposed  Increase  of  the  Navy.  —  Suggests 
the  expediency  of  building  a  Frigate  in  Rhode 
Island.  —  Lieutenant  Allen  appointed  to  the 
Argus.  —  Perry  remonstrates.  —  Claims  the 
Command.  —  His  Delicacy  to  Allen.  —  Perry 
designated  to  command  on  Lake  Erie  .     .     .103 


L 


V    ^^'^  ^ 


'TTTTT-f.t 

CONTENDS*  » 

CHAPTER  ^^JPOR^ 

^?5S5ate:S?=^  Pag* 
Terry  ordered,  to  the  Lakes. — Sends  off  Crews 

of  Flotilla. — Visits  his  Parents.  —  Goes  ia 
Albany. — Joins  Commodore  Chauncey. — Pro- 
ceeds to  Sacketfs  Harbour. — Rumoured  At. 
tack  from  the  Enemy.  —  Perry  detained  on 
Lake  Ontario. — Ordered  to  Erie. — His  Jour. 
Tie?/. — Rumour  of  an  Attack  on  Erie. — Ar* 
rival  at  that  Place. — Condition  of  the  Squad- 
ran. — Difficulties  of  Equipment. — Perry  vis. 
its  Pittsburgh,  —  Returns  to  Erie.  — Visits 
Niagara. — Storming  of  Fort  George. — Per. 
n/'s  Account  of  it. — Perry  ordered  to  Black 
Rock, — Flotilla  manned  by  Soldiers. — Labour 
of  ascending  Rapids, — Arrival  at  Buffalo, — 
Passing  the  British  Squadron. — Arrival  at 
Erie, — Preparation  of  the  Squadron, —  Want 
of  Men, — Ordered  to  co-operate  with  General 
Harrison. — Urgent  Letters  from  Government 
and  the  General. — Letter  of  entreaty  to  the 
Commodore  for  Men. — Invites  him  to  assume 
the  Command  on  Erie. — Contemplated  Attack 
of  the  Enemy  on  Erie. — Perry  receives  small 
Re-enforcements. — Determines  to  sail  in  pur' 
suit  of  the  Enemy 126 

CHAPTER  Vn. 

Rise  of  Naval  Armaments  on  Erie, — Character 
of  the  Lake. — Nature  of  Harbours. — Erie 
well  chosen  for  Building  our  Squadron,  — 


CONTENTS. 


Page 


Difficulty  of  Crossing  the  Bar,  —  Judicious 
Preparations. — Labour  of  getting  the  Law- 
rence over. — Enemy  appear  off  the  Harbour. 

—  Disappear.  —  Our  Squadron  on  the  open 
Lake. — Prepare  for  Battle.^-Sail  in  Pur- 
suit.— Return  to  Erie.  —  Arrival  of  Re-en- 
forcements.— Letter  from  Commodore  Chaun- 

cey.  —  Perry  considers  it  insulting.  —  Ten- 
ders Resignation  of  his  Command. — Commo- 
dore Chauncey  promises  Marines. — Reserves 
them  for  his  own  ,  Ship. — Squadron  sails  for 
Sandusky. —  Visit  from  General  Harrison. — 
Perry  gojds  off  Maiden.  —  Offers  Battle.  —  , 
Anchors  in  Put-in  Bay. — Illness  of  Perry. — 
Receives  Re-enforcements. — Recovers. —  Vis- 
its Maiden  and  Sandusky. -^Reproachful  Let- 
ter from  Secretary. — Perrfs  Defence      .     .  169 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Intelligence  of  the  Enemy* s  Intention  to  Sail. — 
Relative  Force  of  Squadrons. — Perry  returns 
to  Put-in  Bay. — Last  Instructions  for  Battle. 
— Enemy  appears  in  Sight,  standing  for  our 
Squadron. — Perry  sails. — Shift  of  Wind. — 
Enemy  to  Leeward. — Clearing  for  Action. — 
Hoisting  Battle-flag. — Cheers  along  the  Line. 

—  Action  commences.  —  Destructive  Fire  on 
the  Lawrence  in  bearing  down. — Supported  by 
Scorpion,  Ariel,  and  Caledonia.  —  Niagara 
draws  to  Windward. — Desperate  Resistance 


Page 

of  the  Lawre7ice. — She  is  remced  to  a  Wreck, 
— Perry  shifts  to  the  Niagara. — Perils  of  his  J 

Passage. — Sympathy  of  the  Lawrence's  Crew.  "^ 

— He  reaches  the  Niagara  in  Safety. — Sur- 
rehder  of  the  Lawrence. — Death  of  Brooks. — 
The  Niagara  breaks  the  Enemy^s  Line. — En- 
gages  hath  Sides. — British  Squadron  attempts 
to  Wear. — Detroit  and  Queen  Charlotte  get 
foul.  —  Terrible  raking  Fire. — British  Sur- 
render. — Appearance  of  both  Squadrons. — 
Character  of  the  Victory.  —  Official  Letters. 
— Burial  of  Seamen. — Return  to  Put-in  Bay, 
— Burial  of  Officers 211 

CHAPTER  IX. 

National  Consequences  of  the  Victory. — Official 
Report. — Perplexities  of  Commodore  Perry, 
— Favourable  Notice  of  Captain  Elliott. —  Un- 
favourable Rumours  concerning  him. — Perry's 
Efforts  to  suppress  them. — Gives  him  a  Cer- 
tificate. —  His  Motives.  —  Informs  General 
Brooks  of  his  Son^s  Death.  —  Preparations 
for  transporting  the  Army  to  Canada, — An- 
ecdote  of  Perry^s  Benevolence. — Removal  of 
the  Army  to  Put-in  Bay  ;  to  Middle  Sister  ; 
to  Maiden. — Ascent  of  Detroit  River. — Perry 
volunteers  as  Aid  to  General  Harrison. — Rap' 
turously  received  by  the  Army.  —  Exciting 
Pursuit.  —  Enemy  overtaken. — Battle  of  the 
Thames. — Charge  of  mounted  Keniuckians,—- 


XU  CONTENTS. 


Page 


Death  of  Tecumseh. — Capture  of  the  British 
Army. — Anecdote  of  Perry's  Horsemanship, 
—  Affords  Protection  to  the  Moravian  Mis- 
sionaries. — Benevolence  to  Afflicted  Woman, 
— Captain  Elliott's  Complaints  against  Perry  266 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Introduction. — Ancestors  of  Perry. — Emigration  of 
Edmund  Perry.— He  settles  in  Plymouth. — Driv- 
en away  by  Religious  Persecution. — Removes  to 
Narragansett. — Account  of  Perry^s  Father. — He 
serves  through  the  Revolutionary  War.  —  Is  cap- 
tured.— Confined  on  hoard  the  Jersey. — Is  released. 
— Recaptured.  —  Escapes. —  Conclusion  of  War, 
—  Becomes  Master  of  a  Merchantman.  —  Mar- 
ries.  —  Birth  of  Oliver  Hazard  Perry.  —  Anec 
dotes  of  his  Boyhood. — Is  sent  to  School. — His 
various  Teachers.  —  His  Family  settles  in  New- 
port.— Becomes  a  Pupil  of  Mr,  Eraser. — Suffers 
from  his  Irascibility. — Firmness  of  Mrs.  Perry. — 
He  improves  in  his  Studies. — Is  taught  Naviga- 
tion.— Proves  an  apt  Scholar. — Forms  a  taste  for 
Reading. — French  Aggressions  on  our  Commerce. 
— Measures  for  its  Protection.  —  Creation  of  a 
Navy, — Oliver^s  Father  appointed  Post-captain. — 
Builds  the  General  Greene. — Oliver  left  in  charge 
of  the  Family. — Conceives  the  idea  of  entering  the 
Navy. — Gives  reasons  for  his  choice. 

Among  the  noblest  of  a  nation's  possessions  is 
tihie  memory  of  her  great  men.    In  the  lowest  state 
B 


14  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

of  degradation  to  which  a  nation  may  be  reduced 
by  her  own  degenerate  profligacy,  or  by  external 
causes  which  she  cannot  control,  the  memory  of 
her  mighty  dead  serves  to  solace  her  regrets,  and 
to  stimulate  the  noblest  of  the  hving  to  imitate 
their  example ;  to  vindicate  the  fame  and  charac- 
ter of  their  country,  and,  haply,  to  restore  its  liber- 
ties. Greece,  in  the  midst  of  all  the  humihation 
to  which  she  was  reduced  by  her  own  degeneracy, 
or  by  the  resistless  energy  and  numbers  of  barba- 
rian conquerors,  urged  on  by  religious  fanaticism, 
could  still  exult  in  the  recollection  of  her  past  his- 
tory, despise  her  conquerors,  glory  in  her  national- 
ity, and  find,  in  the  memory  of  her  Leonidas,  Epam- 
inondas,  and  Alcibiades,  inspiration  to  fire  the 
minds  and  nerve  the  arms  of  a  Marco  Botzaris 
and  a  Canaris. 

Should  America  be  also  fated  to  know  her  sea- 
son of  decay,  to  sink  under  misfortune,  and  behold 
the  extinction  of  her  liberties,  she  may  yet  exult 
in  the  cherished  memory  of  her  patriots  of  other 
times,  and  find,  in  the  inspiration  of  their  example, 
worthy  imitators  of  a  Washington,  a  Franklin,  a 
Warren,  a  Decatur,  and  a  Perry.  Her  sages  may 
well  compare,  for  wisdom  and  virtue,  with  the 
wisest  and  most  patriotic  of  other  lands.  Brief  as 
is  her  history,  and  few  as  happily  have  been  her 
wars,  no  country  has  produced  heroes  of  a  truer 
stamp.     Among  these,  he  whom  we  have  last 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       15 

named  lingers  in  the  memory,  surrounded  with  all 
the  attributes  that  can  adorn  or  give  lustre  to  suc- 
cessful valour :  with  modesty,  kindness,  courtesy, 
chivalrous  self-devotion,  lively  sympathies,  and  a 
generous  humanity.  To  place  the  memory  of 
Perry  before  his  countrymen  in  a  more  complete 
and  enduring  form,  to  show  him  in  his  real  char- 
acter, to  depict  his  virtues  without  concealing  his 
faults,  is  the  object  of  the  following  narrative. 

Edmund  Perry,  the  paternal  ancestor  of  Oliver 
Hazard  Perry  in  the  fifth  generation,  and  the 
first  who  emigrated  to  this  country,  was  born  in 
Devonshire,  in  England,  about  the  year  1630.  He 
was  a  gentleman  of  education  and  of  considerable 
literary  attainments.  Being  an  influential  member 
of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  one  of  its  public 
speakers,  he  became  the  subject  of  the  persecution 
so  rife  during  the  domination  of  Cromwell,  espe- 
cially against  the  Quakers,  who,  tampering  with 
the  army  and  preaching  universal  peace,  seduced 
the  military  zealots  from  their  duty,  and  bade  fair 
thus  to  put  an  end  to  the  dominion  of  the  saints. 
This  led  to  the  emigration  of  Edmund  Perry  to 
Plymouth,  in  Massachusetts,  about  thirty  years 
subsequent  to  the  foundation  of  that  colony. 

The  persecution,  however,  which  had  driven 
him  from  England,  raged  with  equal  inveteracy 
in  the  colony  in  which  he  had  taken  refuge, 
though  founded  by  those  who  had  fled,  like  him- 


16  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

self,  in  search  of  religious  liberty.  In  order  to  be 
able  to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of 
his  conscience,  he  was  compelled  to  remove  far- 
ther from  the  haunts  of  civiUzed  man ;  and  at 
length,  with  others  of  his  persuasion,  found  a  rest- 
ing-place in  South  Kingston,  on  the  waters  of 
Narragansett  Bay,  where  they  form  their  junction 
with  Long  Island  Sound  and  the  Atlantic,  encir- 
cling the  beautiful  promontory  which  is  also  called 
by  the  name  of  Narragansett. 

A  more  tolerant  spirit  existed  in  the  colony  of 
Rhode  Island  than  its  neighbour  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  by  the  persecuted  of  which  it  was  chiefly 
settled.  At  any  rate,  there  were  none  but  Indians 
to  disturb  the  emigrant  in  the  possession  of  an  es- 
tate which  had  been  amicably  acquired  by  pur- 
chase, and  which  continued  in  possession  of  the 
family  at  the  birth  of  the  subject  of  this  narrative. 
The  treatment  of  the  Indians  in  this  settlement  was 
kind  and  conciliatory.  Their  descendants  still 
continue  to  exist  there  in  a  civilized  state  ;  and  it 
may  be  here  mentioned  as  a  remarkable  fact,  that 
one  of  them  fell  on  Lake  Erie  on  board  the  Law- 
rence. 

Freeman  Perry,  great-grandson  of  Edmund  Per- 
ry, and  grandfather  of  Oliver  Hazard  Perry,  was 
born  on  the  second  of  February,  1732,  and  at  the 
age  of  twenty-four  married  the  daughter  of  Oliver 
Hazard,  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  original  Qua- 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       17 

ker  settlers  of  Narragansett,  whose  brother  held  the 
station  of  lieutenant-governor  of  the  colony.  Oli- 
ver Hazard  was  a  gentleman  of  large  property, 
elegant  manners,  and  cultivated  tastes.  The  state 
of  society  in  Rhode  Island  in  those  times  not  a  lit- 
tle resembled  that  of  Virginia.  The  cultivation 
of  the  soil  was  then  performed  by  slaves,  and  com- 
merce had  introduced  wealth,  with  its  consequent 
luxuries  and  refinements.  Freeman  Perry  was 
educated  to  the  legal  profession,  in  which  he  ac- 
quired distinction,  filling,  in  a  creditable  manner, 
various  offices  of  trust,  such  as  member  of  the  co- 
lonial Assembly,  and  judge  of  the  court  of  Common 
Pleas. 

The  third  son  of  this  gentleman,  called  Chris- 
topher Raymond,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  biog- 
raphy, was  born  on  the  fourth  of  December,  1761. 
Notwithstanding  his  early  age  when  the  revolution 
broke  out,  he  was  engaged  throughout  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  war  in  fighting  the  battles  of  his 
country,  both  by  sea  and  land.  After  serving  for 
a  time  in  a  corps  of  volunteers  raised  in  Narragan- 
sett, called  the  Kingston  Reds,  he  entered  before 
the  mast  in  a  privateer  commanded  by  a  Captain 
Reed,  and,  on  the  termination  of  the  cruise,  made 
a  second  in  the  Mifflin,  commanded  by  George 
Wait  Babcock.  In  the  course  of  this  last  cruise 
he  was  captured  and  taken  into  New- York,  where 
he  jvas  confined  for  three  months  on  board  the 
B2 


18  AMERICAN    BIQGRAPHY. 

Jersey  prison-ship,  subject  to  many  miseries,  occa- 
sioned by  the  disproportioned  numbers  that  were 
crowded  together  in  a  small  space,  the  loathsome 
filth  in  which  they  existed,  the  unwholesomeness 
and  insufficiency  of  the  food,  and  all  the  studied 
barbarities  by  which  Britons  sought  to  punish  their 
fellow-subjects  of  the  New  World  for  cherishing 
the  love  of  freedom,  and  defending  the  liberties 
which  were  part  of  their  birthright  as  descendants 
of  Englishmen.  Near  the  Wallabout,  in  Brooklyn, 
is  a  monument,  erected  over  the  remains  of  ten 
thousand  Americans,  victims  of  the  systematic  cru- 
elty of  British  prison-ships. 

Christopher  Raymond  Perry  was  among  the 
small  number  of  those  who  escaped  to  recount  the 
horrible  story  of  British  captivity  on  board  the 
Jersey.  He  came  forth,  however,  the  emaciated 
victim  of  the  contagion  which  reigned  within  that 
abode  of  horror.  But  his  zeal  in  behalf  of  liberty, 
and  his  resentment  against  England,  were  only 
quickened  into  fresh  intensity  by  the  treatment 
which  he  had  received.  So  soon  as  his  health 
was  restored,  he  entered  on  board  the  U.  S.  ship 
Trumbull,  commanded  by  Captain  James  Nichol- 
son, and  was  on  board  that  ship  during  her  memo- 
rable combat  with  the  Watt,  a  British  letter  of 
marque  of  greatly  superior  force.  After  an  action 
of  two  hours  and  a  half,  during  which  the  Trum- 
bull had  thirty-nine  men  killed  and  wounded,  the 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       19 

English  ship  almost  entirely  ceased  firing,  and 
gave  indications  of  an  intention  to  surrender.  Un- 
fortunately, at  this  conjuncture,  the  topmasts  of  the 
Trumbull,  which  were  badly  wounded  by  the  en- 
emy's lofty  firing,  went  over  the  side,  when  the 
latter,  having  lost  no  fewer  than  ninety-two  men 
in  killed  and  wounded,  was  happy  to  escape. 
This  action  was  considered  one  of  the  severest  of 
the  Revolution. 

Subsequently  to  this  cruise,  young  Perry  entered 
on  board  a  privateer,  bound  on  a  cruise  on  the  en- 
emy's own  coast  He  was,  however,  again  cap- 
tured, and  confined  in  prison  in  Ireland  during 
eighteen  months,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  ef- 
fected his  escape ;  and,  having  passed  in  a  British 
vessel  to  the  island  of  St.  Thomas  in  the  charac- 
ter of  a  British  seaman,  took  passage  from  thence 
to  Charleston,  where  he  arrived  after  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  war  in  1783. 

Perry  continued  to  devote  himself  to  the  profes- 
sion of  the  sea,  and  made  a  voyage  to  Ireland  as 
mate  of  a  merchantman.  Among  the  passengers 
on  the  return  voyage  to  the  port  of  Philadelphia 
was  a  lady,  born  in  Ireland,  but  of  Scotch  extrac- 
tion, by  the  name  of  Sarah  Alexander.  The  ac- 
quaintance thus  begun  on  the  ocean  subsequently 
ripened  into  a  strong  attachment,  and  a  year  after, 
being  in  October,  1784,  Christopher  Raymond 
having  risen  to  command,  though  as  yet  only 


so  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

twenty-three  years  of  age,  he  found  himself  in  a 
situation  to  marry;  and,  having  previously  had 
the  fortune  to  win  the  consent  of  Miss  Alexander, 
they  were  married  in  Philadelphia.  They  forth- 
with removed  to  South  Kingston,  where  the  young 
and  imcommonly  handsome  couple  was  received 
with  joyous  celebrations  by  Perry's  extensive  fam- 
ily circle,  and  particularly  by  his  maternal  grand- 
father, the  venerable  Oliver  Hazard,  whose  cour- 
teous and  graceful  demeanour  impressed  the  bride 
most  favourably  as  to  the  associates  among  whom 
her  lot  was  now  cast  so  far  from  her  home. 

The  young  couple  became  domesticated  with 
Judge  Perry,  the  captain's  father,  who  resided  on 
a  farm  of  near  two  hundred  acres,  which  had  been 
in  possession  of  his  family  since  the  settlement  of 
the  country.  The  old  homestead  stood  at  the  base 
of  a  hill,  which  commanded  an  extensive  view  of 
the  surrounding  country,  interspersed  in  many  di- 
rections by  picturesque  lakes — one  of  them,  called 
Point  Judith  Pond,  being  beautifully  dotted  by 
green  islands — and  bounded,  by  the  irregular  wind- 
ing of  the  coast,  with  the  waters  of  Narragansett, 
separating  it  from  the  opposite  shores  of  Rhode 
Island,  while  far  in  the  southern  distance  spread 
the  broad  Atlantic.  The  old  postroad  between 
New- York  and  Boston,  which,  in  the  earlier  days 
of  the  colonies,  followed  the  circuitous  line  of  the 
coast,  out  of  the  reach  of  Indian  depredations,  pass- 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  21 

ed  at  a  short  distance  in  front  of  the  house ;  while 
in  a  picturesque  and  retired  nook  near  an  adjoining 
wood  stood  the  family  burying-ground,  within 
which  several  generations  had  already  been  in- 
terred. Ere  Captain  Perry  again  resumed  his 
profession,  making  voyages  to  many  lands,  the 
young  couple  continued  for  a  season  in  this  pleas- 
ing retirement,  to  enjoy  together  the  sweets  of  do- 
mestic happiness.  As  the  mother's  character  so 
sensibly  affects  that  of  the  children,  it  may  not  be 
amiss  here  to  say  that  Mrs.  Perry  was  exceedingly 
intelligent  and  well-informed,  and  that,  to  a  con- 
siderable share  of  personal  attraction  and  a  per- 
suasive gentleness  of  demeanour,  she  added  a  de- 
gree of  force  of  mind  and  energy  of  character  not 
often  found  in  her  own  sex,  and  seldom  equalled 
in  ours. 

Their  first  child,  Oliver  Hazard  Perry,  was  born 
on  the  twenty-third  of  August,  1785.  His  great- 
grandfather, Oliver  Hazard,  having  died  shortly 
before  the  birth  of  this  child,  and  his  uncle,  Oliver 
Hazard  Perry,  being  lost  at  sea  on  his  passage  from 
South  Carolina  about  the  same  time,  the  boy  was, 
at  the  request  of  his  grandmother,  named  after  her 
father  and  son  thus  simultaneously  removed.  The 
chief  characteristics  of  Oliver's  early  years  were 
an  uncommon  share  of  beauty,  a  sweetness  and 
gentleness  of  disposition  which  corroborated  the 
ejcpression  of  his  countenance,  and  a  perfect  diS' 


22  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

regard  of  dapger,  amounting  to  apparent  uncon- 
sciousness. An  anecdote  illustrative  of  this  pecu- 
liarity is  still  preserved  in  the  family.  When  lit- 
tle more  than  two  years  old,  Oliver  had  strayed 
into  the  road  in  company  with  an  older  child,  and 
seated  himself  in  the  middle  of  it,  when  a  horse- 
man being  discovered  approaching,  his  companion 
jumped  up  and  removed  out  of  the  way,  calling  to 
Oliver  to  do  the  same.  He,  however,  sat  still  un- 
til the  horsenaan  approached,  and  drew  up  imme- 
diately over  him,  when,  looking  up  calmly  into  his 
face,  he  lisped  to  him,  "  Man !  you  will  not  ride 
over  me,  will  you  1"  The  horseman,  happening 
to  be  a  friend  of  the  family,  dismounted,  and  car- 
ried the  boy  into  the  house,  where  he  related  the 
story  with  great  interest,  and  much  the  same  pride 
as  if  it  had  been  his  own  child.  He  thought  Oli- 
ver's conduct  gave  token  of  a  confiding  as  well  as 
a  thoroughly  courageous  disposition. 

Another  anecdote,  indicative  of  the  same  courage 
and  of  generous  sympathy,  was  frequently  related 
by  his  mother.  When  about  five  years  old,  he 
was  sitting  studying  his  lesson  in  the  same  room 
in  which  his  father  was  busy  with  some  accounts 
and  papers.  His  sister,  who  was  two  years  young- 
er than  himself,  was  playing  about  the  floor,  and, 
having  found  a  paper  which  had  fallen,  had  torn 
it  into  pieces,  and  turned  her  attention,  according 
to  the  custom  of  young  ladies  of  that  age,  to  some 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY. 


new  mischief.  Presently  the 
and  the  two  children  directed 
Oliver  soon  found  the  fragments  and  handed  them 
to  his  father ;  the  deHnquency  of  the  little  girl  was 
manifest  in  her  shamefaced  air.  The  paper  hap- 
pened to  be  of  importance,  and  the  father,  in  the 
irritation  of  the  moment,  lifted  his  hand  to  inflict 
some  trifling  punishment,  when  Oliver  placed  him- 
self between,  and,  passing  one  arm  round  his  little 
sister,  raised  the  other  to  intercept  the  blow,  say- 
ing, at  the  same  time,  in  a  firm,  yet  deprecating 
and  respectful  tone, "  Oh,  papa !  don't  strike  her  1" 
His  mother  often  spoke  of  his  manner  of  perform- 
ino-  this  little  act  as  indescribable:  at  the  same 
time  so  protecting  and  kind  towards  his  sister,  and 
so  firm,  so  earnest,  yet  so  respectful  towards  his 
father.  Captain  Perry  was  completely  disarmed 
of  his  resentment,  and  overcome  by  the  words  and 
manner  of  the  child ;  for  he  was  a  man  of  suscep- 
tible and  generous  feelings.  The  little  mischief- 
maker  was  received  into  favour ;  her  affectionate 
confidence  in  her  brother  was  not  diminished  by 
his  conduct  on  this  occasion ;  and  his  parents  ever 
after  freely  intrusted  her,  as  well  as  their  other 
children,  to  his  guidance  and  protection.  The 
anecdote  is  interesting,  as  showing  that  his  charac- 
ter in  boyhood  and  maturer  years  was  consistent 
with  itself,  and  that  the  qualities  of  courage  and 
generosity  were  as  fully  displayed  within  the  nar- 


24  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

row  circle  of  Kis' secluded  home  as  when  under 
the  broad  gaze  of  an  admiring  world. 

Soon  after  this  incident,  Oliver,  having  already 
learned  to  read  under  the  tuition  of  his  mother, 
was  removed  to  a  school  established  by  one  of  the 
neighbours  for  the  benefit  of  the  rising  generation. 
The  increasing  family  and  growing  cares  of  Mrs. 
Perry  rendered  this  relief  desirable.  The  school 
was  a  sort  of  voluntary  association,  established 
without  fee  or  gratuity  by  a  benevolent  bachelor 
of  the  neighbourhood,  of  considerable  acquirements, 
though  more  noted  for  his  goodness  of  heart  and 
childlike  simplicity.  This  old  gentleman  was  as 
indolent  as  he  was  kind-hearted.  He  had  often 
been  importuned  to  open  a  school  for  the  education 
of  the  children  of  the  neighbourhood,  and  at  length 
consented  to  do  so  on  condition  that  he  should  be 
allowed  to  have  his  bed  in  the  schoolroom.  This 
being  granted,  the  old  gentleman  rechned  in  state 
among  his  pupils,  being  assisted  in  his  instructions, 
and  in  such  little  offices  of  flagellation  as  were  in- 
dispensable, by  his  nephew,  the  present  Judge 
William  Peckham,  of  South  Kingston,  by  whom 
the  anecdote  is  related.  Young  Peckham's  dele- 
gated dignity,  however,  was  attended  with  this 
disadvantage,  that,  being  nearest  his  uncle's  bedj 
wh^.never  the  old  gentleman  felt  an  impulse  to  in- 
flid  punishment  himself,  his  nephew,  being  near- 
est, asually  had  the  benefit  of  it.     As  the  school 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       25 

\^as  at  some  distance,  Oliver,  with  several  female 
cousins  of  his  own  name,  who  lived  on  the  ad- 
joining farm,  made  their  daily  pilgrimage  togeth- 
er.  His  little  cousins  had  no  brother,  and  were 
therefore  glad  to  accept  the  protection  of  Oli- 
ver, who,  though  less  in  years  than  themselves,  so 
threw  himself  between  them  and  danger  in  all  ad- 
ventures on  the  road  as  to  inspire  a  confidence  in 
his  manliness  which  was  always  justified.  He 
seems,  indeed,  from  his  earhest  youth,  to  have  ex- 
ercised an  influence  over  those  who  approached 
him ;  this  fact  is  attested  by  all  the  surviving  com- 
panions of  his  youth.  While  his  extraordinary 
beauty  attracted  attention  to  his  person,  it  was 
soon  converted  into  aifectionate  regard  and  respect 
by  the  graceful  amenity  of  his  manners,  by  a  mod- 
esty which  had  in  it  nothing  of  shamefaced  awk- 
wardness, and  by  a  display  of  quiet  firmness  and 
calm  self- composure.  The  distinction  which  he 
subsequently  acquired,  while  it  gratified  many  of 
the  friends  of  his  youth  even  to  tears,  excited  no 
astonishment;  it  seemed  but  the  realization  of 
those  just  hopes  which  his  youth  had  inspired. 

At  Tower  Hill,  distant  four  miles  from  Judge 
Perry's  farm,  there  was  an  excellent  school,  kept 
by  a  venerable  Scotchman  of  the  name  of  Kelly ; 
"  old  Master  Kelly,"  as  he  might  well  be  called, 
as  he  had  already  taught  three  generations  of  that 
vicinage,  and  was  now  busy  in  dinning  the  same 
C 


26  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

instruction  into  the  fourth.  Thither  Oliver  was 
despatched  so  soon  as  his  age  quahfied  him  for 
the  walk,  and  his  female  cousins  became  again  the 
companions  of  his  daily  journeys,  and  subject  to 
his  protection.  It  is  recorded  of  this  worthy  and 
time-honoured  pedagogue,  that,  during  the  whole 
of  his  long  servitude  at  Tower  Hill,  he  had  never 
once  been  known  to  lose  his  temper,  but  ever  pre- 
served a  blessed  equanimity,  to  be  envied  by  all  of 
his  arduous  and  important  calling.  During  Oli- 
ver's continuance  at  the  school,  old  Master  Kelly 
was  obliged  to  retire  from  sheer  superannuation, 
and  was  succeeded  by  a  Mr.  Southworth,  from 
Connecticut.  This  gentleman  is  represented  to 
have  been  also  an  excellent  teacher,  and  to  have 
possessed  a  happy  faculty  of  attaching  his  schol- 
ars. Both  Oliver  and  his  cousins  were  accustomed 
afterward  to  speak  of  the  time  they  were  under 
his  tuition  as  the  happiest  of  their  school-days,  and 
to  recount  with  lively  pleasure  the  recollections  of 
their  wayside  adventures  in  their  daily  rambles. 
To  this  early  association  with  his  female  cousins 
he  was  doubtless  indebted  for  his  peculiar  gentle- 
ness of  manners,  and  to  a  preference  of  female  so- 
ciety to  that  of  his  own  sex,  which  characterized 
him  through  life. 

At  the  end  of  a  year  or  two  Mr.  Southworth  re- 
moved from  the  neighbourhood,  and  Doctor  Perry 
fortunately  procured  the  services  of  a  Scotch  gen- 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       27 

Heman  of  education  and  talents,  who  had  recently- 
been  in  the  family  of  the  governor,  residing  with 
him  as  tutor  to  his  children.  Oliver  also  had  the 
benefit  of  his  instructions,  and  became  a  temporary- 
inmate  of  his  uncle's  family.  Mr.  Bryer  proved 
not  only  an  admirable  instructer  to  the  children, 
but  an  agreeable  and  entertaining  companion. 
Unfortunately,  at  the  end  of  a  few  months,  he 
gave  evidence  of  a  failing  which  had  caused  the 
loss  of  a  considerable  fortune  and  his  ruin  in  his 
own  country,  namely,  an  excessive  fondness  for  the 
bottle.  To  be  sure,  he  had  the  grace  to  absent 
himself  from  home  during  his  periodical  fits  of 
intemperance ;  but,  as  the  education  of  the  chil- 
dren was  thus  interrupted,  and  as  he  was  not  ren- 
dered more  clear-headed  or  more  agreeable  on  his 
return,  it  became  necessary  to  relinquish  his  ser- 
vices. 

Meantime,  Oliver's  father  had  long  since  resumed 
the  prosecution  of  his  profession,  and  made  many 
voyages,  as  commander  and  supercargo  of  mer- 
chant ships,  to  Europe,  South  America,  and  the 
East  Indies.  By  these  he  became  in  possession  of  a 
handsome  income.  Desiring  to  secure  for  his  chil- 
dren, amounting  now  to  four,  a  better  education 
than  South  Kingston  afforded,  and  to  promote  his 
professional  convenience,  he  established  his  family 
in  Newport,  about  the  time  that  the  private  school 
at  Doctor  Perry's  was  broken  up  by  the  misadven- 


28  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

tures  of  Mr.  Bryer.  Here  Oliver  was  placed  at 
the  school  of  Mr.  Frazer,  under  whose  skilful  and 
judicious  tuition  he  made  rapid  proficiency  in  all 
his  studies.  The  relaxed  discipUne  of  the  country 
schools,  where,  the  numbers  being  small,  every- 
thing was  conducted  somewhat  upon  the  principle 
of  brotherly  love,  furnished  but  an  imperfect  prep- 
aration for  the  sterner  rule  which  the  Highland 
gentleman  found  it  necessary  to  exercise  among 
his  more  numerous  and  heterogeneous  disciples  at 
Newport.  The  early  days  of  Oliver's  admission 
into  Mr.  Frazer's  school  were  signalized  by  a  very 
untoward  occurrence ;  no  less  a  one  than  his  re- 
ceiving a  broken  head  one  day  for  some  trifling 
and  perhaps  unconscious  misdemeanour,  from  a 
heavy  ferule  hurled  by  Mr.  Frazer  in  an  ungovern- 
able fit  of  passion,  such  as  he  was  often  subject  to. 
Seizing  his  hat,  without  leave  asked  or  granted, 
Oliver  went  immediately  home,  and  told  his  moth- 
er he  could  never  enter  that  school  again. 

Mrs.  Perry  w^as  a  woman  of  strong  feelings, 
eminently  courageous  temperament,  and  command- 
ing character.  She  was  necessarily  indignant  at 
the  treatment  of  her  child ;  but  she  was  not  much 
edified  by  Oliver's  determinations  as  to  what  he 
would  or  would  not  do,  nor  disposed  to  yield  to 
them.  She  did  not  reply  to  his  decision  not  to  re- 
turn to  Mr.  Frazer's  school,  but  quietly  bound  up 
his  wounded  head,  and  soothed  him  with  expres- 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       29 

sions  of  maternal  solicitude.  Had  she  consulted 
only  her  resentment,  it  would  have  led  her,  at 
every  hazard,  to  withdraw  her  child  from  the 
authority  of  one  who  had  abused  it.  She  wise- 
ly reflected,  however,  that  Oliver,  being  an  un- 
usually high-spirited  boy,  and  his  father  general- 
ly absent,  as  he  happened  to  be  at  that  time,  if 
she  yielded  to  his  wishes  in  this  instance,  he  might 
expect  the  same  indulgence  whenever  he  felt  dis- 
contented with  a  school  from  motives  less  well- 
founded.  This  would  not  only  be  a  disadvantage 
to  him  with  regard  to  his  studies,  but  might  tend 
to  weaken  her  own  control  over  him.  She  there- 
fore wrote  a  note  to  Mr.  Frazer,  stating,  in  sub- 
dued terms,  her  indignant  feelings  at  the  outrage 
upon  her  child,  coupled  with  the  motives  which 
restrained  her  from  withdrawing  him  from  the 
school,  and  concluding  by  the  expression  of  a  hope 
that  she  should  not  have  cause  to  regret  the  mark 
of  renewed  confidence  which  she  thus  gave  to  Mr. 
Frazer,  by  again  intrusting  her  son  to  him.  On 
the  following  morning,  as  the  usual  hour  came 
round,  she  called  to  Oliver,  as  if  she  had  heard 
nothing  of  his  declaration  of  the  previous  day, 
and  told  him  it  was  school-time.  At  the  same 
time,  she  placed  the  note  for  Mr.  Frazer  into  his 
hand,  and  told  him  that  she  did  not  think  he 
would  receive  similar  treatment  again.  The  proud 
boy's  Up  quivered,  and  a  tear  stood  in  his  eve :  but 
C2 


30  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

the  thought  of  disobeying  his  mother  had  never 
entered  his  head,  nor  did  it  probably  ever  do  so 
until  the  day  of  his  death.  She  hved  to  rear  five 
sons,  all  of  whom  entered  the  naval  service  of  their 
country,  and  whom  she  fitted  to  command  others 
by  teaching  them  thus  early  to  obey. 

Mr.  Frazer  was  conscious  of  his  own  culpable 
violence,  and  alive  to  the  good  sense  and  magna- 
nimity of  Mrs.  Perry's  conduct.  He  devoted  him- 
self unremittingly  to  Oliver's  improvement,  became 
warmly  attached  to  him,  and  won  his  attachment 
in  return ;  for  Oliver,  though  high-tempered,  was 
a  stranger  to  vindictiveness  and  cherished  resent- 
ment. Newport  was  then  an  eminently  commer- 
cial port.  As  many  of  the  young  men  were  in- 
tended for  the  sea,  Mr.  Frazer  had  an  evening 
class  for  the  purpose  of  teaching  mathematics,  and 
their  application  to  navigation  and  nautical  astron- 
omy. He  took  a  peculiar  pleasure  in  initiating 
Oliver  into  these  sciences ;  and  in  the  intervals  be- 
tween school-hours,  and  on  holydays,  would  fre- 
quently walk  to  the  beach  with  him,  where  a  ho- 
rizon could  be  obtained  to  take  astronomic  observa- 
tions, and  otherwise  render  his  lessons  more  prac- 
tical. Before  Oliver  left  Mr.  Frazer's  school,  the 
latter  was  wont  to  boast  that  he  was  the  best  nav- 
igator in  Rhode  Island. 

In  Newport  Oliver  attracted  to  himself  no  less 
attention  and  good-will  than  among  the  partial 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       31 

friends  of  his  childhood  in  South  Kingston.  His 
personal  beauty,  his  modesty,  and  the  mature  and 
gentle  gracefulness  of  his  manners,  won  for  him 
many  friends.  Among  the  number  was  Count 
Rocharabeau,  son  of  the  distinguished  general  of 
that  name,  who  commanded  the  French  auxihary 
army  during  our  revolutionary  war.  This  noble- 
man, being  driven  from  his  country  by  the  terrors 
of  the  Revolution,  had  established  himself  at  New- 
port, where  his  father's  previous  residence  prepared 
for  him  many  friends.  Newport  offered,  moreover, 
many  attractions  to  a  person  of  refinement.  Many 
of  the  inhabitants  were  wealthy  and  highly  edu- 
cated, and  the  tone  of  society  was  elegant  and  in- 
tellectual. Oliver's  pleasing  manners  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  count,  and  his  amiability  and 
worth  soon  converted  the  feeling  of  partiality  into 
a  sincere  friendship.  Notwithstanding  the  boy's 
youth,  he  frequently  invited  him  to  dine  in  com- 
pany with  older  friends,  and,  when  he  left  New- 
port, presented  him  with  a  beautiful  httle  watch 
as  a  token  of  his  regard. 

When  Oliver  was  but  eleven  years  old,  Bishop 
Seabury  came  to  Newport,  in  the  course  of  an 
episcopal  visitation  of  the  Eastern  states,  for  the 
purpose  of  ordaining  clergymen  and  confirming 
the  young.  Oliver's  parents  scarcely  considered 
him  old  enough  to  receive  and  appreciate  that  sol- 
emn rite  J  but  the  bishop,  having  been  greatly 


32  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

pleased  by  his  appearance  and  manners,  and  by 
the  maturity  and  seriousness  which  his  conversa- 
tion indicated,  requested  that  he  might  come  for- 
ward for  confirmation.  Afterward,  when  the  bish- 
op came  to  take  leave  of  Oliver's  parents,  he  laid 
his  hands  upon  the  boy's  head,  and  blessed  him  in 
a  manner  so  solemn  and  emphatic  as  to  make  an 
indelible  impression  upon  all  who  were  present 
His  mother  was  greatly  touched  by  the  incident, 
and  received  the  impression  that  the  blessing  had 
been  heard  and  answered,  and  would  follow  him 
through  life. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  year  1797,  Captain 
Perry,  having  secured  a  small  competency,  retired 
from  his  profession,  and  settled  in  the  village  of 
Westerly,  in  a  remote  part  of  the  state.  Oliver 
was  now  entering  his  thirteenth  year ;  his  educa- 
tion was  unusually  advanced  for  his  age,  for  he 
Lad  been  a  diligent  student  at  Mr.  Frazer's  during 
the  last  five  years ;  and  an  unbounded  fondness  for 
books,  kept  up  from  the  early  period  when  his 
mother  had  first  taught  him  to  read,  had  imparted 
to  him  an  unusual  share  of  general  information. 
Fortunately  for  the  youth  of  those  times,  novels 
were  not  so  abundant  nor  so  universally  diffused 
as  now,  and  the  reading  of  Oliver  was  confined  to 
Plutarch,  Shakspeare,  the  Spectator,  and  works 
of  a  similar  character,  suited  to  instruct  and  fur- 
nish the  mind,  and  give  force  to  the  character. 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       33 

About  this  period,  our  relations  with  the  French 
republic  were  beginning  to  assume  a  hostile  char- 
acter. That  ambitious  and  unprincipled  govern- 
ment having  expected  to  receive  active  assistance 
from  us  in  her  war  against  England,  under  a  false 
construction  of  the  alliance  entered  into  during  our 
war  of  independence,  was  provoked  by  our  cau- 
tious neutrahty.  Deluded  by  the  friendship  of  an 
extravagant  and  intemperate  faction  in  the  United 
States,  who  justified  all  the  horrors  of  the  French 
Revolution,  into  the  belief  that  the  great  body  of 
the  American  people  was  in  their  favour,  the 
French  sought  to  involve  us  in  the  war  as  their 
allies,  by  infringing  our  neutrality  and  complica- 
ting our  relations  with  England.  Citizen  Genet, 
the  French  representative  in  the  United  States,  not 
only  undertook  to  grant  commissions  and  fit  out 
privateers  in  the  United  States  to  cruise  against 
British  commerce,  but  actually  succeeded  in  send- 
ing some  vessels  to  sea  in  defiance  of  our  govern- 
ment. These,  moreover,  captured  British  vessels 
on  our  own  coasts,  and  even  within  our  navigable 
waters.  Not  content  with  this  measure  of  aggres- 
sion, insult,  and  contumely,  the  French  cruisers 
and  privateers  soon  after  began  to  capture  our  own 
merchant  vessels. 

Every  attempt  to  obtain  redress  from  the  French 
government  for  these  aggravated  grievances  hav- 
ing failed,  Congress  so  far  adopted  the  recommen- 


34  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

dation  of  the  president  for  an  enlarged  plan  of 
naval  defence  as  to  authorize  him,  in  April,  1798, 
to  purchase,  hire,  or  build  twelve  ships,  of  not 
more  than  twenty  guns  each,  to  be  added  to  the 
six  frigates  which  then  constituted  our  navy,  and 
three  of  which  only,  namely,  the  United  States, 
the  Constitution,  and  Constellation,  were  already 
launched.  At  the  same  time,  a  separate  depart- 
ment of  the  government  was  created,  to  superin- 
tend the  affairs  of  the  navy,  which  had  hitherto 
been  under  the  control  of  the  war  department; 
and  Benjamin  Stoddert  was  subsequently  created 
the  first  secretary  of  the  navy  under  the  Federal 
Constitution.  Soon  after,  the  president  was  au- 
thorized to  purchase  twelve  additional  ships,  of 
from  eighteen  to  thirty-two  guns,  and  to  instruct 
the  commanders  of  our  ships  of  .war  to  capture 
any  French  cruisers,  whether  men-of-war  or  priva- 
teers, that  might  be  found  upon  our  coasts,  having 
committed,  or  being  likely,  as  there  might  be  rea-^ 
son  to  believe,  to  commit  any  depredations  on  ourj 
commerce  ;  also,  to  recapture  any  American  ves-' 
sels  that  might  have  been  already  seized.  Laws 
were  subsequently  passed  for  the  capture  of  French 
cruisers  wherever  they  might  be  found,  and  for  the 
condemnation  of  the  prizes  that  might  thus  be 
made.  Such  was  the  origin  of  the  quasi  war  with 
France,  more  familiarly  known  as  the  French  dis- 
turbances. 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       35 

The  prospect  of  a  naval  contest  with  a  nation 
which  had  so  insultingly  trampled  on  our  commer- 
cial rights,  and  the  recollection  of  his  youthful  en- 
terprises on  the  ocean  in  the  revolutionary  war, 
prompted  Captain  Perry  to  seek  employment  in 
the  marine  about  to  be  created.  Strong  applica- 
tions in  his  behalf,  from  the  most  influential  per- 
sons in  Rhode  Island,  were  forwarded  to  the  pres- 
ident, and  he  was  at  once  commissioned  a  post- 
captain  in  the  navy.  On  the  ninth  day  of  June, 
1798,  two  days  after  the  date  of  the  commission, 
instructions  were  transmitted  by  Oliver  Wolcott, 
the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  to  Mr.  George  Cham- 
plin,  of  Newport,  directing  him  to  procure  such  a 
ship  as  Captain  Perry  should  approve  of.  No 
suitable  ship  could  be  found,  and  the  construction 
of  one  was  immediately  commenced  at  the  town 
of  Warren,  near  Bristol  in  Rhode  Island,  in  which 
neighbourhood  ship-timber  abounded.  Thither 
Captain  Perry  at  once  removed,  to  attend  to  the 
construction  of  the  ship,  which  it  had  been  deter- 
mined to  name  after  General  Greene,  the  most  dis- 
tinguished of  the  sons  of  Rhode  Island. 

Meantime,  Mrs.  Perry  having  accompanied  her 
husband  to  Warren,  Oliver,  then  not  quite  thirteen 
years  old,  remained  in  complete  charge  of  the  fam- 
ily, making  all  the  necessary  purchases,  attending 
that  his  sister  and  younger  brothers  went  regularly 
to  school,  keeping  his  parents  constantly  advised 


36  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

by  letter  of  all  that  was  passing,  and  conducting 
the  whole  affairs  of  the  family  with  prudence  and 
regularity.  The  obedience  which  he  received 
from  his  younger  brothers  and  from  all  the  house- 
hold was  unquestioning  and  unqualified.  With  all 
this  early  influence  over  others,  Oliver  was  still, 
however,  a  boy,  with  all  the  tastes  of  one,  except 
that  he  had  little  propensity  to  mischief.  Among 
his  favourite  amusements  of  this  period  was  sail- 
ing boats  and  planks  in  the  Pawcatuck  river, 
which  made  an  elbow  quite  near  the  house.  Mr. 
T.  S.  Taylor,  now  of  South  Kingston,  was  his 
schoolfellow  and  playmate  in  Westerly  ;  and,  in 
bearing  recent  testimony  to  the  good  temper  and 
kind  feelings  which  characterized  Oliver,  and  ren- 
dered him  a  universal  favourite,  states,  that  the 
only  occasion  on  which  he  ever  saw  him  angry 
was  in  one  of  their  sailing  excursions  in  the  shoal 
water  of  the  Pawcatuck,  when  the  boys  were  rep- 
resenting a  sea  engagement ;  and  Oliver's  raft  hap- 
pening to  be  run  down  by  that  of  young  Taylor, 
who  was  the  opposing  admiral,  Oliver's  rage  be- 
came ungovernable,  and  he  was  for  a  moment 
anxious  to  resort  to  any  means,  however  foreign 
to  the  prescribed  warfare,  to  recover  the  lost  ad- 
vantage of  the  day.  Among  his  habitual  play- 
mates were  his  next  brother  Raymond  and  his 
cousin,  George  Perry,  who,  being  a  resident  of  the 
family  and  part  of  his  garrison,  joined  daily  in  a 
game  of  ball  before  the  house,  into  the  spirit  of 


OLIVER    HAZARD    FT^%Y.  37 

which  Oliver  entered  with  all  his  soul,  and  with 
conspicuous  activity,  to  the  delight  of  his  sisters, 
by  one  of  whom  the  anecdote  is  related,  to  show 
that  he  had  the  tastes  of  his  age,  and  that  the  con- 
trol which  he  so  early  exercised  over  others  was 
not  owing  to  any  undue  assumption  of  manhood, 
but  to  his  calmness,  gentleness,  and  habits  of  self- 
command. 

Amid  this  blending  of  manly  and  boyish  occu- 
pations, Oliver  was  meditating  seriously  the  plan 
of  his  future  life.  He  had  early  imbibed  a  desire 
for  the  military  profession,  from  the  conversation 
of  his  mother.  The  friends  of  this  lady,  though 
Protestants  and  of  Scotch  descent,  had  been  in- 
volved in  the  Irish  rebellion.  She  herself  had  felt 
a  lively  enthusiasm  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  and  had 
listened,  with  deep  interest,  to  every  account  she 
had  heard  of  battles  and  skirmishes  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood. She  took  a  pleasure  in  recounting  to 
her  son  the  achievements  of  her  countrymen,  and 
always  insisted  that  they  were  the  bravest  people 
in  the  world.  These  narratives  had  fired  the  mind 
of  Oliver,  and  created  a  desire  in  him  to  pursue  the 
profession  of  arms.  He  had  been  born  almost  on 
the  shore  of  the  Atlantic,  and  with  water  and 
ships  perpetually  in  sight.  His  residence  in  New- 
port, too,  and  the  occupations  of  his  father,  had 
brought  him  much  in  connexion  with  ships  and 
seamen,  and  blended  with  his  inclination  for  a  mil- 
D 


38  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

itary  life  a  desire  to  make  his  home  upon  the  sea. 
When,  therefore,  hostiUties  with  France  became 
inevitable,  and  his  father  received  his  commission 
as  a  post-captain  in  the  navy,  and  was  appointed 
to  the  General  Greene,  the  means  of  gratifying 
his  double  tastes  for  war  and  for  the  sea  were  at 
once  provided.  He  wrote  to  his  father,  asking  his 
leave  to  enter  the  navy ;  and,  being  requested  to 
state  the  motives  which  influenced  him  in  his  choice, 
he  did  so  in  detail  and  at  considerable  length.  Mr. 
Thomas  Hazard,  a  relation  of  Captain  Perry,  who 
is  still  living,  happened  to  be  present  at  Warren 
when  this  letter  was  received.  It  was  handed  to 
him  to  read;  and  the  good  reasons  that  were 
given  for  the  choice,  and  the  mature,  sensible,  and 
manly  terms  in  which  they  were  expressed,  made 
an  impression  which  is  not  yet  effaced  from  the 
mind  of  the  old  gentleman.  It  is  much  to  be  re- 
gretted, that  in  the  various  removals  and  vicissi- 
tudes of  the  family,  this  letter,  with  almost  every 
other  relating  to  the  youth  of  Perry,  has  disap- 
peared. It  would  be  of  no  little  interest  to  exam- 
ine how  far  the  motives  with  which  he  entered 
upon  his  profession  were  borne  out  by  the  results, 
and  to  compare  his  hopes  with  their  after  fulfil- 
ment. We  should  no  doubt  find  in  the  comparison 
a  rare  example  of  a  cloud  castle  excelled  by  the 
splendour  of  the  real  structure,  and  youthful  as- 
pirations for  glory  outdone  by  the  reality. 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       39 


CHAPTER  n. 

Oliver  enters  as  a  Midshipman  on  board  the  General 
Greene. — Cruise  to  the  West  Indies. — Return  to 
Newport. — Second  Cruise  to  the  West  Indies. — 
Ship  ordered  to  St.  Domingo. — Co-operation  with 
Toussaint. — Blockade  and  Capture  of  Jaquemel. 
— Cruise  round  the  Island. — Part  of  Crew  taken 
out  by  Commodore  Talbot.  —  Ship  ordered  to  the 
Mississippi. — Rencounter  with  a  British  line-of- 
iattle  Ship. — Spirited  conduct  of  Captain  Perry. 
— Return  to  Newport. — Peace  with  France. — Re- 
duction of  the  Navy. — Captain  Perry  left  out. — 
Oliver  retained. — Tripolitan  War. — Early  opera- 
tions.— Oliver  embarks  in  the  Adams. — She  sails  for 
the  Mediterranean. — Employed  in  Blockading. — 
Gives  Convoy  up  the  Mediterranean. —  Visits  Spain 
and  Italy. — Arrives  off  Tripoli. — Boat  Expedition, 
— Blockade. — Attempted  Negotiation.  —  Squadron 
returns  to  Gibraltar. — Perry  returns  home. — His 
Occupations  and  Character. 

Captain  Perry  had  commenced  the  building 
of  the  General  Greene  immediately  after  receiv- 
ing his  commission,  but  it  was  not  until  the 
spring  of  the  following  year  that  the  ship  was 
ready  to  proceed  to  sea.  She  was  a  small  frig- 
ate, rated  at  twenty-eight,  and  mounting  probably 


40  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

thirty -six  guns.  The  officers  were  chiefly  ap- 
pointed from  Rhode  Island,  and  the  selection  of 
them  was  intrusted  by  the  secretary  of  the  navy 
to  Captain  Perry.  When,  therefore,  he  had  re- 
ceived Oliver's  letter,  assigning  reasons  for  his 
wish  to  enter  the  navy,  and  had  determined,  with 
the  consent  of  Mrs.  Perry,  to  accede  to  it,  there 
was  no  farther  difficulty  to  be  encountered.  Oli- 
ver's name  was  placed  on  the  hst  of  those  recom- 
mended to  fill  the  stations  of  midshipmen  on  board 
the  General  Greene,  and  in  April,  1799,  he  re- 
ceived his  warrant  and  orders  to  report  for  duty. 
Bidding  adieu  to  his  home  and  the  companions  of 
his  childhood,  he  embarked  with  his  father,  and 
soon  after  sailed  for  the  island  of  Cuba.  It  was 
in  the  West  India  seas  that  the  French  cruisers 
most  abounded,  and  that  our  commerce  suffered 
most  from  their  depredations.  The  ship  was  en- 
gaged for  several  weeks  in  giving  convoy  to  our 
merchant  vessels  bound  from  Havana  to  the  Uni- 
ted States.  The  yellow  fever  having,  however, 
broken  out  among  her  crew,  compelled  Captain 
Perry  to  abandon  his  station  in  order  to  check  the 
progress  of  the  disease.  He  proceeded,  accord- 
ingly, to  Newport,  and  arrived  there  towards  the 
close  of  July. 

On  the  departure  of  Captain  Perry  from  home, 
he  had  removed  his  family  from  Westerly  to  Tow- 
er Hill,  in  order  that  Mrs.  Perry  might  be  within 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  41 

reach  of  the  friendly  offices  of  his  relations.  Thith- 
er Oliver  accompanied  his  father,  and  he  remained 
chiefly  at  home  during  the  period  employed  in  re- 
fitting the  ship  and  restoring  the  health  of  her 
crew.  He  was,  of  com-se,  a  person  of  great  con- 
sequence, on  his  return  from  foreign  parts,  in  the 
eyes  of  his  younger  brothers  and  sisters.  They 
used  to  go  forth  betimes  in  the  morning  to  pick 
berries  for  his  breakfast,  before  the  dew  had  been 
drunk  up  by  the  early  sun,  and  followed  him  in  all 
his  rambles  with  untiring  affection,  and  with  a 
certain  respectful  deference,  which  was  perhaps 
now  a  little  enhanced  by  their  awe  of  his  uniform. 
During  his  absence  he  had  commenced  learning  to 
perform  on  the  flute,  an  accomplishment  in  some 
degree  or  other  universal  among  midshipmen,  but 
which  he  afterward  carried  to  very  great  perfec- 
tion. His  childish  companions  were,  however, 
anything  but  fastidious  critics ;  and,  in  their  sylvan 
rambles,  the  simple  melodies  which  he  drew  forth 
appeared  to  them  altogether  charming. 

The  health  of  the  crew  of  the  General  Greene 
having  been  completely  restored,  she  resumed  her 
station  off  the  Havana  early  in  the  autumn,  and 
continued  to  give  convoy  to  our  vessels  bound 
through  the  Bahama  Channel  or  into  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  The  disturbed  condition  of  St.  Domingo, 
and  the  piracies  committed  on  our  commerce  by 
the  followers  of  Rigaud,  a  mulatto  chieftain  who 
D2 


42  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

aimed  at  establishing  a  rival  power  independent 
of  Toussaint,  occasioned  the  General  Greene  to  be 
soon  after  ordered  to  that  island.  She  was  placed 
under  the  orders  of  Commodore  Talbot,  who  was 
about  to  be  despatched  there  in  the  Constitution, 
and  who  directed  Captain  Perry  to  proceed  at 
once  to  the  stationxand  circumnavigate  the  island, 
with  a  view  to  the  more  extensive  protection  of 
our  commerce. 

The  General  Greene  arrived  at  Cape  Francois 
early  in  October,  when  Captain  Perry  received  a 
communication  from  Mr.  Edward  Stevens,  at  that 
time  our  consul-general  in  St.  Domingo,  informing 
him  of  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  island,  and  point- 
ing out  the  line  of  conduct  necessary  for  the  pro- 
tection of  our  commerce.  In  the  prosecution  of 
the  civil  war  then  raging  in  the  island,  between 
General  Toussaint  L'Ouverture,  who  commanded 
the  armies  operating  under  the  name  of  the  French 
Republic,  but  in  reality  controlled  only  by  himself, 
and  General  Rigaud,  the  former  had  signalized 
himself  by  a  friendly  course  towards  neutral  pow- 
ers, and  a  studious  regard  to  the  laws  of  hospitality 
with  respect  to  the  merchant  vessels  visiting  the 
ports  within  his  control.  Rigaud,  on  the  contrary, 
carried  on,  through  his  armed  barges,  a  predatory 
warfare,  not  merely  on  the  vessels  of  the  island  be- 
longing to  the  ports  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Tous- 
saint, but  also  on  all  neutral  vessels  approaching 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       43 

the  coast.     On  this  account,  it  became  the  policy 
of  neutrals  to  protect  and  encourage  General  Tous- 
saint,  whose  upright  and  honourable  character  in- 
spired unbounded  confidence,  and  oppose  Rigaud. 
With  this  view  the  American  and  English  consuls 
joined  in  granting  passports  to  the  cruisers  fitted 
out   by  Toussaint,   which,   though   wearing   the 
French  flag  and  owning  the  French  allegiance, 
were   exempted   from   capture,  to   which   other 
French  vessels  were   subject.      The  government 
of  the  United  States  had  approved  of  the  course 
adopted  by  their  consul,  and  Captain  Perry  was 
ordered  not  to  capture  or  molest  any  of  the  vessels 
fitted  out  by  Toussaint  for  the  purpose  of  defending 
his  coasts  against  the  barges  of  Rigaud,  so  long  as 
they  should  continue  to  respect  the  commerce  of 
the  United  States,  but  to  render  what  aid  he  was 
able  in  putting  down  Rigaud. 

While  cruising  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Cape 
Tiburon,  on  the  ninth  of  February,  1800,  Captain 
Perry  discovered  a  number  of  Rigaud's  cruisers  an- 
chored under  protection  of  three  forts  on  the  coast. 
He  immediately  stood  in  and  anchored  under  the 
forts,  which,  in  less  than  thirty  minutes,  were  si- 
lenced, with  the  loss  of  a  number  killed  on  the 
part  of  the  enemy ;  the  General  Greene  having 
only  received  a  few  shots  in  her  hull,  and  some 
trifling  injury  in  her  rigging.  The  boats  of  the 
General  Greene  were  speedily  got  out,  in  readiness 


44  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

to  take  possession  of  the  vessels  at  anchor,  when, 
a  large  ship  being  seen  in  the  offing  which  had 
the  appearance  of  a  French  frigate,  it  became  ne- 
cessary to  get  the  ship  under  way,  in  order  to  avoid 
being  placed  between  two  fires.  Chase  was  given 
to  the  strange  sail,  which  proved  to  be  a  captured 
French  vessel  in  the  service  of  England. 

Soon  after  this  occurrence.  Captain  Perry  re- 
ceived an  urgent  request  from  General  Toussaint 
that  he  would  proceed  with  the  General  Greene 
off  the  port  of  Jaquemel,  which  he  was  then  be- 
sieging. As  this  was  the  stronghold  of  Rigaud, 
from  which  he  despatched  his  cruisers  and  into 
which  they  brought  their  prizes.  Captain  Perry 
readily  comphed  with  the  request.  He  proceeded 
off  the  port,  and  not  only  so  strictly  blockaded  it 
as  to  intercept  the  entry  of  supplies  and  produce  a 
great  scarcity,  but  took  part  in  the  active  opera- 
tions of  the  siege.  The  fire  of  the  General  Greene 
compelled  the  enemy  at  length  to  evacuate  their 
strongest  position,  and  led  to  the  surrender  of  the 
garrison,  consisting  of  five  thousand  men.  The 
reduction  of  this  place,  from  which  the  commerce 
of  the  United  States  had  been  seriously  annoyed, 
and  which  was  considered  at  home  of  great  im- 
portance, was  attributed  by  General  Toussaint  en- 
tirely to  Captain  Perry's  co-operation.  He  return- 
ed him  sincere  and  repeated  thanks  for  his  assist- 
ance, assured  him  of  the  hvely  gratitude  he  should 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       45 

ever  feel  to  him  and  to  his  country,  and  of  his  firm 
determination  to  extend  his  friendship  and  protec- 
tion, on  all  occasions,  to  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States ;  a  determination  which  he  ever  most  faith- 
fully observed. 

After  the  fall  of  Jaquemel,  Captain  Perry  pros- 
ecuted the  cruise  which  he  had  been  ordered  to 
make  round  the  island  of  St.  Domingo,  which  ter- 
minated early  in  April  at  Cape  Francois,  the  port 
from  which  he  had  set  out.  Here  he  fell  in  with 
Commodore  Talbot  in  the  Constitution  frigate,  and 
was  much  annoyed  by  the  commodore's  taking 
from  him  twenty-four  of  his  best  men,  and  sending 
seventeen  invalids  to  supply  their  places.  Cap- 
tain Perry  made  the  conduct  of  the  commodore 
the  subject  of  complaint  in  his  report  to  the  secre- 
tary of  the  navy.  He  argued  forcibly  against  the 
unfairness  of  ridding  one  ship  of  disease  at  the  ex- 
pense of  another ;  and  expressed  the  belief,  that 
the  removal  of  so  many  of  his  crew  from  the  ship 
for  which  they  had  entered  would  have  an  injuri- 
ous effect  on  the  recruiting  service  in  Rhode  Isl- 
and. He  stated  that  many  of  his  crew  had  fami- 
lies, or  were  the  sons  of  substantial  farmers,  whose 
connexions  looked  to  him  for  their  safe  return,  and 
that,  should  any  accident  happen  to  them  from 
their  being  turned  over  to  another  ship,  or  dis- 
charged at  a  distance  from  their  homes,  it  would 
not  only  give  ground  of  complaint  against  the 


46  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

commander,  but  excite  clamour  and  prejudice 
against  the  navy.  The  fact  is  interesting,  as  show- 
ing, at  this  early  period  in  the  existence  of  our 
navy,  the  want  of  a  higher  grade  of  officers  to 
command  in  chief,  wdth  a  fairness  which  can  never 
be  expected  from  one  who  is  at  the  same  time 
captain  of  a  particular  ship,  and  also  as  giving  an 
insight  into  the  composition  of  our  crews. 

An  order  had  been  received  from  the  secretary 
of  the  navy  for  the  General  Greene  to  proceed  off 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  in  order  to  receive  on 
board  General  Wilkinson  and  family,  and  trans- 
port them  to  a  northern  port  of  the  United  States. 
By  direction  of  Commodore  Talbot,  the  General 
Greene  now  sailed  on  this  service,  and  arrived 
off  the  Balize  about  the  twentieth  of  April.  Af- 
ter a  delay  of  several  weeks,  she  sailed  for  New- 
port on  the  tenth  of  May,  giving  convoy  by  the 
way  to  an  American  brig  bound  to  Havana.  When 
off  that  port  she  fell  in  with  a  British  line-of-battle 
ship,  which,  when  near,  fired  a  shot  at  the  mer- 
chant brig  to  bring  her  to.  The  brig,  in  obedience 
to  the  orders  of  Captain  Perry,  paid  no  regard  to 
the  signal  from  the  British  ship,  but  continued  her 
course.  As  the  wind  was  light,  the  British  cap- 
tain despatched  a  boat  to  board  the  brig ;  but,  as 
the  boat  approached.  Captain  Perry  fired  a  shot 
ahead  of  her.  This  brought  the  boat  alongside 
of  the  General  Greene,  and  the  line-of-battle  ship 


OLIVER     HAZARD    PERRY.  47 

at  the  same  time  bore  down,  and,  when  within 
hail,  her  captain  demanded  why  his  boat  had  been 
fired  on.  Captain  Perry  replied,  that  it  was  to 
prevent  her  from  boarding  the  American  brig, 
which  was  under  his  convoy  and  protection.  The 
British  captain  rejoined  that  it  was  very  strange 
that  one  of  his  majesty's  seventy-four  gun  ships 
could  not  board  an  American  merchant  brig. 
Captain  Perry  replied,  "  If  she  were  a  first-rate 
ship,  she  should  not  do  so  to  the  dishonour  of  my 
flag!"  This  memorable  answer  embraces  the 
whole  principle  and  profession  of  naval  honour. 
It  was  worthy  of  Captain  Perry,  of  his  country, 
and  of  the  future  reputation  of  his  son. 

The  foregoing  incident  would  show  that  the 
school  was  a  good  one  in  which  young  Perry  re- 
ceived his  first  lessons  of  naval  honour.  He  made 
rapid  progress  in  the  attainment  of  professional 
knowledge,  improved  himself  by  diligent  reading, 
and,  as  opportunity  occurred,  by  intercourse  with 
society ;  and,  while  preserving  a  dignity  of  deport- 
ment beyond  his  years,  by  his  gentleness  and  ami- 
ability won  the  affectionate  attachment  of  all 
around  him.  His  earliest  letter  which  has  been 
preserved,  and  the  only  one  of  this  period  extant, 
is  now  before  the  writer.  It  is  brief,  sententious, 
and  well  expressed ;  exhibits  a  strong  attachment 
to  his  brothers  and  sisters,  a  respectful  affection  to 
his  mother,  to  whom  it  is  addressed,  and  a  lively 
solicitude  for  her  welfare. 


48  AMERICAN    BIOGKAPHY. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  General  Greene  at  New- 
port, towards  the  close  of  May,  orders  were  re- 
ceived from  the  secretary  of  the  navy  to  pay  off 
the  whole  of  her  crew,  except  such  a  small  num- 
ber as  might  be  necessary  to  take  care  of  the  ship 
while  she  was  undergoing  repairs.  She  was  or- 
dered to  be  prepared  for  sea  with  all  possible  de- 
spatch ;  and  Captain  Perry  was  directed  to  advise 
the  secretary  when  the  ship  should  be  ready  to  re- 
ceive her  crew,  that  the  necessary  orders  might  be 
given  for  recruiting  it.  The  secretary  urged.  Cap- 
tain Perry  to  hasten  his  preparations  by  the  com- 
plimentary assurance  that  the  services  of  the  Gen- 
eral Greene  had  been  too  important  to  be  dispensed 
with  a  moment  longer  than  might  be  necessary  to 
re-equip  her  for  sea. 

Soon  after,  the  negotiations  for  the  settlement  of 
our  difficulties  with  France,  which  had  been  for 
some  time  going  on  at  Paris,  assumed  an  appear- 
ance of  pacific  termination.  No  farther  measures 
were  therefore  taken  to  increase  our  naval  force 
abroad,  and  the  sailing  of  the  General  Greene 
was  delayed,  with  that  of  other  ships  about  to 
put  to  sea.  Early  in  the  following  year,  the 
treaty  which  had  been  agreed  upon  in  Paris  was 
ratified  by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States ;  and, 
very  soon  after,  a  change  of  administration  hav- 
ing occurred,  which  brought  Mr.  Jefferson  into 
office,  on  principles  opposed  to  the  navy,  and  to 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       49 

expenditures  for  almost  every  liberal  object  con- 
nected with  the  permanent  welfare  of  the  country, 
it  was  determined  to  reduce  the  navy  nearly  to  the 
condition  in  which  our  difficulties  with  France  had 
found  it.  The  cruisers  of  all  rates  were  reduced 
in  number,  by  selling  the  excess,  from  forty-two  to 
thirteen,  and  the  officers  were  discharged  from  the 
service  in  even  greater  proportions.  Of  forty-two 
post-captains  who  had  abandoned  their  pursuits, 
and  many  of  them  sacrificed  their  fortune,  to  come 
forward  in  defence  of  their  country's  rights,  only 
nine  were  retained  in  the  navy.  The  masters'- 
commandant  were  dismissed  in  mass. 

Captain  Perry  was  among  the  large  majority 
excluded  from  the  service ;  and  the  circumstance 
was  not  a  little  painful  to  him,  though  announced 
t>y  the  secretary  of  the  navy  in  the  following  terms, 
as  well  suited  as  any  other  to  sooth  the  annoyance 
inseparable  from  such  a  notification.  "The  act 
providing  for  the  peace  establishment  of  the  navy 
of  the  United  States  has  imposed  on  the  president 
a  painful  duty.  It  directs  him  to  select  nine  gen- 
tlemen from  among  the  captains  of  the  navy  of 
the  United  States,  and  to  permit  the  remaining 
commanders  to  retire  from  public  service  with  the 
advance  of  four  months'  extra  pay.  I  have  deem- 
ed it  a  duty,  therefore,  as  early  as  possible  to  in- 
form you,  that  you  will  be  among  those  whose  ser- 
vices, however  reluctantly,  will  be  dispensed  with- 
E 


50  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

Permit  me  to  assure  you  that  the  president  has  a 
just  sense  of  the  services  rendered  by  you  to  your 
country,  and  that  I  am,  with  sentiments  of  respect, 
your  most  obedient  servant." 

Chance,  which  presided  more  at  this  reduction 
than  judgment  or  discretion,  so  willed  it  that  the 
reduction  was  much  less  thorough  among  the  infe- 
rior classes  of  officers,  and  out  of  nearly  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  midshipmen,  upward  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  were  retained  to  perform  duty  under  the 
nine  remaining  captains.  Fortunately  for  the  hon- 
our of  the  country  and  the  future  reputation  of  its 
flag,  the  name  of  Oliver  Perry  figured  among  those 
of  the  midshipmen  thus  retained  in  the  service. 

Our  difficulties  with  France  were  scarcely  at  an 
end,  and  our  naval  establishment  reduced,  before 
the  unprotected  state  of  our  commerce  created  for 
us  new  enemies.  In  order  to  procure  a  suspension 
of  the  depredations  on  our  commerce  heretofore 
committed  by  the  Barbary  corsairs,  our  govern- 
ment had  been  guilty  of  the  weakness  of  bribing 
the  various  regencies  by  an  annual  present  of  arms 
and  other  goods,  and  in  some  cases  of  money. 
On  a  recent  occasion,  the  Dey  of  Algiers  had  car- 
ried his  insolence  so  far  as  to  compel  the  com- 
mander of  the  American  ship  of  war  which  had 
brought  out  the  tribute  to  proceed  to  Constantino- 
ple with  a  present  which  he,  in  turn,  was  desirous 
of  making  to  the  sultan.    Having  thus  consented 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       51 

to  pay  tribute  to  Algiers,  and  tamely  suffered  one 
of  our  national  vessels  to  be  impressed  into  the 
service  of  a  barbarian  chief,  to  be  employed  in  the 
degrading  task  of  carrying  tribute  to  a  third  pow- 
er— having  also  paid  tribute  to  the  Bey  of  Tunis, 
the  Bashaw  of  Tripoli  reasonably  enough  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  he  was  entitled  to  be  treated 
with  equal  consideration,  and  determined,  at  any 
rate,  to  resort  to  similar  means  of  extorting  what 
he  conceived  to  be  his  due.  The  custom  of  ma- 
king presents  and  paying  tribute  had  long  been 
acquiesced  in  by  the  weak  powers  of  the  opposite 
contment,  whose  unprotected  commerce  covered 
the  Mediterranean.  The  bashaw,  after  setting 
forth  the  various  grievances  that  he  had  suffered 
from  the  United  States,  and  especially  the  superior 
value  of  the  presents  which  had  been  made  to  Al- 
giers and  Tunis,  at  length,  towards  the  close  of 

1800,  formally  announced  to  the  American  consul, 
that  if  he  did  not  receive  a  present  in  money  from 
the  United  States  within  six  months,  he  would 
commence  hostilities  against  our  commerce. 

Our  recent  naval  successes  in  the  struggle 
against  France  had  prepared  the  country  to  re- 
sist this  insolent  demand,  and  arrangements  were 
forthwith  commenced  for  refitting  and  recommis- 
sioning  our  dismantled  ships.     In  the  summer  of 

1801,  Commodore  Dale  was  despatched  to  the 
Mediterranean  with  the  President,  Philadelphia, 


52  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

and  Essex  frigates,  and  schooner  Enterprise.  Com- 
modore Dale  found  that  the  bashaw,  in  fulfilment 
of  his  threat,  had,  at  the  expiration  of  the  six 
months,  caused  the  flagstaff  of  our  consulate  to 
be  cut  down,  the  symbol  among  those  piratical  re- 
gencies of  a  declaration  of  war.  As  Commodore 
Dale's  orders  restricted  him  to  a  defensive  course, 
he  confined  his  operations  to  blockading  the  Tri- 
politan  cruisers  in  their  own  port,  and  in  neutral 
ports  where  they  happened  to  find  themj  thus 
the  Tripolitan  admiral  having  been  found  by  the 
squadron  with  a  ship  and  brig  in  the  Bay  of  Gib- 
raltar, they  were  there  blockaded  by  a  part  of  the 
squadron.  Only  one  encounter  took  place  at  sea 
during  the  cruise  of  this  squadron,  and  this  was 
most  glorious  for  our  arms.  It  was  between  the 
Enterprise,  of  twelve  guns,  commanded  by  Lieu- 
tenant Sterret,  and  the  Tripoli,  a  ship  of  fourteen 
guns.  The  action  continued  for  three  hours,  at 
the  end  of  which  time  fifty  of  the  corsair's  crew 
were  either  killed  or  wounded  out  of  eighty  which 
composed  her  compliment.  The  president  being 
under  the  impression  that  the  Constitution  did  not 
authorize  him,  in  the  prosecution  of  this  defensive 
warfare,  to  make  captures,  had  ordered  that  no 
vessels  should  be  taken  from  the  enemy,  and  the 
Tripoli  was  accordingly  disarmed  and  set  at  lib- 
erty. 
Early  in  1802  laws  were  passed  by  Congress 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  53 

empowering  the  executive  to  make  use  of  every 
means  of  reducing  Tripoli  to  peace.  The  term  of 
enlistment  for  seamen  was  judiciously  extended 
from  one  to  two  years,  and  a  more  numerous 
squadron  of  ships  was  fitted  out,  to  take  the  place 
of  the  one  of  which  the  term  of  service  had  now 
expired.  This  squadron  consisted  of  the  Chesa- 
peake, Constellation,  New-York,  Adams,  and  John 
Adams  frigates,  and  schooner  Enterprise.  It  was 
commanded  by  Commodore  Richard  V.  Morris.  On 
board  the  Adams,  commanded  by  Captain  Hugh 
G.  Campbell,  Oliver  Perry  again  embarked  as 
midshipman,  after  a  little  more  than  a  year  that 
he  had  remained  detached  from  active  service. 
The  Adams  was  lying  in  Newport,  which  circum- 
stance probably  fixed  Oliver's  destination  to  that 
particular  ship,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  a  sin- 
cere and  lively  friendship  towards  him  on  the  part 
of  Commodore  Campbell,  which  ended  only  with 
the  life  of  that  valuable  officer,  whose  name  con- 
tinues in  the  service  to  be  the  object  of  veneration. 
The  Adams  sailed  from  Newport  in  June,  and 
arrived  at  Gibraltar  towards  the  middle  of  July. 
Here  she  fell  in  with  the  commodore,  who  had  his 
flag  on  board  the  Chesapeake.  The  Adams,  after 
having  made  a  short  cruise  to  Malaga  with  con- 
voy, was  left  at  Gibraltar  to  watch  the  two  Tripol- 
itan  vessels  in  that  harbour,  and  the  commodore 
proceeded  up  the  Mediterranean  with  the  Chesa- 
£2 


54  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

peake,  New-York,  John  Adams,  and  Enterprise, 
having  a  number  of  merchant  vessels  under  con- 
voy, intending,  after  seeing  them  into  the  ports  to 
which  they  were  bound,  to  appear  off  Tripoh  and 
commence  his  offensive  operations.  By  the  time, 
however,  that  he  had  reached  Malta,  the  provis- 
ions of  his  squadron  were  getting  short ;  and,  on 
sailing  for  Tripoli,  having  encountered  an  adverse 
gale  of  many  days'  duration,  he  bore  up,  and,  run- 
ning down  for  Tunis,  touched  there  and  at  Algiers,, 
and  subsequently  reached  Gibraltar  again  towards 
the  close  of  M^rch.  At  Gibraltar  the  commodore 
shifted  his  flag  from  the  Chesapeake  to  the  New- 
York,  and  the  Chesapeake  returned  to  the  United 
States. 

After  so  long  and  wearisome  a  detention  at 
Gibraltar  in  blockading  the  Tripolitan  cruiser — re- 
lieved, however,  for  Oliver  by  one  redeeming  cir- 
cumstance, his  promotion  to  an  acting  lieutenancy 
on  his  birthday,  at  the  early  age  of  seventeen— the 
Adams  was  now,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  all  on 
board  of  her,  ordered  to  proceed  up  the  Mediter- 
ranean with  a  convoy  of  ten  sail,  and  subsequent- 
ly to  meet  the  commodore  at  Malta,  from  which 
place  the  whole  squadron  was  to  go  to  Tripoli,  and 
active  operations  against  the  enemy  were  forthwith 
to  commence.  The  ship  touched  at  Malaga,  Ali- 
cant,  and  Barcelona  in  Spain,  and,  after  remaining 
a  few  days  at  the  latter  place,  proceeded  onward 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       65 

Ivith  the  residue  of  her  convoy  to  Leghorn  and  Na- 
ples. Young  Perry  seized  with  avidity  the  oppor- 
tunity thus  afforded  him  of  seeing  something  of  the 
cities  which  the  Adams  visited;  and  the  indulgence 
of  his  captain,  to  whose  partiality  he  had  owed  the 
pleasing  circumstance  of  so  agreeable  a  present  on 
his  last  birthday,  enabled  him  to  make  excursions 
to  various  interesting  points  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  ports  at  which  they  stopped,  from  which  he 
derived  both  pleasure  and  advantage. 

During  the  month  of  May,  the  squadron,  con- 
sisting of  the  New-York,  John  Adams,  Adams, 
and  Enterprise,  joined  company  at  the  rendezvous 
at  Malta,  and  soon  after  sailed  for  Tripoli.  In  ap- 
proaching that  city,  a  number  of  merchant  vessels 
were  discovered  making  for  the  port,  protected  by 
a  flotilla  of  gunboats.  The  squadron  at  once  gave 
chase,  and  succeeded  in  cutting  the  vessels  off 
from  the  port,  but  not  in  hindering  them  from  get- 
ting into  another  small  harbour  adjoining  to  the 
city.  The  vessels,  being  small,  were  soon  unladen 
and  hauled  up  on  the  beach,  and  breastworks  were 
at  once  thrown  up  to  defend  them,  the  wheat 
which  composed  their  cargo  being  used  for  the 
purpose.  A  large  stone  building  adjacent  to  the 
Dank  was  hastily  fortified  and  filled  with  soldiery. 
The  gunboats,  by  the  aid  of  their  sweeps,  had  been 
able  to  escape  along  shore,  and  get  within  the 
mole  under  cover  of  the  batteries.      Lieutenant 


66  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

David  Porter,  then  first  lieutenant  of  the  New- 
York,  volunteered  to  go  in  with  the  boats  of  the 
squadron  during  the  night  and  destroy  the  vessels 
on  the  beach.  The  commodore,  while  declining 
to  accept  his  services  for  the  night,  as  the  darkness 
would  prevent  the  co-operation  of  the  ships,  de- 
termined to  attempt  the  enterprise  on  the  follow- 
ing morning. 

Accordingly,  the  boats  were  despatched  with  a 
strong  force  from  all  the  ships.  They  pulled  gal- 
lantly in  under  a  heavy  fire  of  musketry  from  the 
Moors  and  Arabs  stationed  behind  the  breast- 
works, and  imperfectly  sustained  by  the  fire  of  the 
ships,  on  account  of  their  distance  from  the  shore. 
In  defiance  of  the  sharp  fire  of  the  enemy,  our  gal- 
lant seamen  landed  under  their  very  breastworks, 
which  were  so  near  that  the  unarmed  rabble  col- 
lected behind  the  combatants  assailed  our  men 
with  stones,  and  succeeded  in  firing  the  vessels  on 
the  beach.  They  then  returned  to  their  boats,  and 
pulled  out  through  the  midst  of  the  enemy's  fire  to 
their  ships.  Although  the  vessels  were  in  flames 
before  our  men  left  them,  the  Tripolitans  succeeded 
in  preserving  most  of  them  by  great  exertions. 
Twelve  of  our  men  were  either  killed  or  wounded, 
and  the  loss  of  the  enemy  was  supposed  to  hare 
been  more  considerable.  Lieutenant  Porter,  who 
so  gallantly  led  the  enterprise,  was  among  the 
wounded.    It  is  not  known  that  young  Perry  cer- 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       67 

tainly  took  part  in  this  daring  exploit;  but  his  rank 
as  a  young  lieutenant  on  board  one  of  the  ships 
in  the  squadron,  and  the  heroic  spirit  which  ever 
characterized  him,  render  it  very  unlikely  that  he 
should  have  been  absent  from  this  scene  of  danger 
and  of  glory. 

Soon  after,  an  effort  was  made  to  destroy  the 
fleet  of  gunboats  which  were  anchored  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  harbour,  between  the  mole  and  a 
reef  of  rocks  which  formed  the  western  side  of  the 
channel.  On  the  morning  fixed  for  the  attack,  a 
very  light  breeze  prevailed,  and  only  the  John 
Adams,  commanded  by  Captain  J.  Rodgers,  was 
able  to  reach  her  station  and  engage  the  enemy. 
The  gunboats  retired  from  the  fire  of  the  John 
Adams  behind  the  mole,  and  towards  nightfall  the 
ship  withdrew  into  the  offing.  On  the  following 
day  the  commodore  made  an  effort  to  arrange  our 
difficulties  by  means  of  negotiation ;  but,  as  there 
had  been  nothing  in  the  manner  in  which  the  war 
had  hitherto  been  carried  on  to  give  these  barba- 
rians a  very  formidable  idea  of  our  naval  power, 
the  attempted  negotiation  was  attended  with  no  pa- 
cific result.  Soon  after  the  commodore  sailed  for 
Malta,  leaving  Captain  Rodgers  in  the  John  Adams 
to  prosecute  the  blockade,  with  the  aid  of  Captain 
Campbell  in  the  Adams,  and  Lieutenant  Isaac  Hull 
in  the  schooner  Enterprise.  Towards  the  close  of 
June  the  John  Adams  had  an  engagement  with 


58  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

an  enemy's  ship  of  twenty-two  guns,  which  had 
left  Tripoli  in  the  night  and  attempted  to  escape 
the  blockade ;  being  discovered  by  the  Enterprise, 
she  was  pursued  into  shoal  water  by  the  Enterprise 
and  John  Adams,  and  compelled  to  anchor  near 
the  shore,  where  parties  of  cavalry  collected  for 
her  defence,  and  the  fleet  of  gunboats  also  hast- 
ened from  Tripoli  to  her  assistance.  After  a  spir- 
ited action,  the  battery  of  the  corsair  was  silenced, 
and  her  crew  jumped  overboard  and  swam  ashore. 
Preparations  were  making  to  get  the  boats  out  and 
take  possession  of  the  prize,  when  she  blew  up. 

Shortly  after  this  occurrence,  the  commodore, 
having  received  information  of  hostile  operations 
against  our  commerce  on  the  part  of  the  Algerines 
and  Tunisians,  recalled  all  the  ships  from  Tripoli 
and  raised  the  blockade.  He  collected  his  squad- 
ron in  Malta,  from  whence  he  made  a  visit  to  the 
Italian  coast.  After  visiting  Sicily,  Naples,  and 
several  of  the  neighbouring  ports,  the  John  Adams 
was  despatched  with  a  convoy  of  American  ves- 
sels down  the  Mediterranean,  while  the  Adams 
cruised  down  on  the  Barbary  side,  touching  at  the 
various  ports.  On  the  reunion  of  the  squadron 
again  at  Gibraltar,  Commodore  Morris  found  let- 
ters recalling  him  from  his  command,  which  tem- 
porarily devolved  on  Captain  Rodgers,  who  hoisted 
his  flag  on  board  the  New-York,  in  expectation  of 
the  speedy  anival  of  Commodore  Edward  Preble, 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       59 

•who  had  been  appointed  to  prosecute  the  war,  and 
was  daily  looked  for  in  the  Constitution.  Captain 
Campbell  replaced  Captain  Rodgers  on  board  the 
John  Adams,  while  Commodore  Morris  proceeded 
in  the  Adams  to  the  United  States,  where  he  ar- 
rived towards  the  close  of  November,  1803. 

After  an  absence  of  a  year  and  a  half,  young 
Perry  returned  again  to  his  family,  which  he 
found  established  in  Newport.  He  now  devoted 
himself  earnestly  to  the  study  of  mathematics  and 
astronomy,  and  the  general  improvement  of  his 
mind.  His  leisure  hours  were  passed  in  the  soci- 
ety of  the  intelligent  and  refined.  Those  who  re- 
member him  at  this  period  represent  him  as  quick 
and  excitable  in  his  temper,  but  not  disposed  to 
unreasonable  anger,  nor  implacable  in  his  resent- 
ments. He  was  a  faithful  and  generous  friend, 
and  ready  to  go  any  length  to  serve  those  to  whom 
he  was  attached.  He  appeared  exceedingly  well 
in  conversation,  and  the  value  of  his  judicious  and 
well-timed  remarks  was  enhanced  by  the  modesty 
and  absence  of  all  pretension  with  which  they 
were  expressed.  He  was  fond  of  the  society  of 
ladies,  and  his  good  looks  and  unusually  grace- 
ful demeanour  fitted  him  to  appear  most  advan- 
tageously in  it.  To  these  social  qualifications 
were  added  a  fine  taste  for  music,  and  an  uncom- 
monly skilful  performance  on  the  flute.  It  is  re- 
marked of  him  that  few  young  men  had  so  nice  a 


60  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

sense  of  honour  with  regard  to  female  character. 
He  frowned  indignantly  on  any  who  trifled  with 
the  affections  of  a  lady,  and  his  own  deportment 
towards  the  sex  was  courteous,  circumspect,  and 
deferential. 

These  elegant  tastes  naturally  involved  an  aver- 
sion to  dissipation  generally.  The  only  extrava- 
gance in  which  he  indulged  was  occasioned  by  his 
fondness  for  horses,  in  one  of  the  finest  of  which 
that  he  could  meet  with  when  on  shore  he  usually 
invested  his  surplus  pay.  He  had,  indeed,  been 
accustomed  to  horses  from  his  childhood,  and  was 
a  fearless  and  elegant  rider.  To.  this  accomplish- 
ment he  added,  in  our  country,  the  more  question- 
able one  of  playing  an  admirable  game  of  bill- 
iards; but,  as  he  never  had  any  taste  for  gam- 
bling, his  visits  to  the  billiard-room  were  attended 
with  no  bad  results.  He  is  said  to  have  fenced 
dexterously,  and  been  generally  skilful  in  the  use 
of  arms.  Such  was  the  character,  tastes,  and  oc- 
cupations of  young  Perry  as  he  was  verging  from 
youth  towards  the  season  of  manhood. 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       61 


CHAPTER  m. 

Prosecution  of  Tripolitan  War  under  Preble, — Per- 
ry^s  anxiety  to  take  part  in  it, — Equipment  of  four 
Frigates, — Perry  ordered  to  the  Constellation, — 
Joins  her  at  Washington. — Mingles  in  Society. — 
Sails  for  the  Mediterranean. — Preble  superseded. 
— The  War  loses  its  chivalrous  Character. — Expe- 
dition of  General  Eaton. — Its  partial  Success, — 
Perry  transferred  to  the  Nautilus, — Commodore 
Rodgers  succeeds  to  the  Command.  —  Concludes 
Peace. — Visits  Tunis. —  Confirms  the  friendship 
of  that  Power. — The  Nautilus  visits  Algiers, — A 
change  of  Administration  in  that  Regency, —  Visit 
to  Gibraltar, — Perry  removed  to  the  Constitution, 
— His  Character  as  an  Officer, — Returns  home  in 
the  Essex, — Description  of  him  by  a  Shipmate. 

Perry  was  not  destined  to  a  long  enjoyment  of 
the  tranquil  occupations  of  his  residence  in  New- 
port. The  command  of  Commodore  Preble  in  the 
Mediterranean  had  been  distinguished  by  a  more 
vigorous  system  of  operations  than  that  of  any  of 
his  predecessors.  The  whole  period  of  his  pres- 
ence before  Tripoli  had  been  signalized  by  a  series 
of  bombardments  and  boat-attacks,  conceived  in 
the  highest  spirit  of  naval  enterprise,  and  executed 
■with  a  brilliant  daring  which  has  never  been  sur- 
F 


62  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

passed.  The  boat-attacks,  planned  and  executed 
under  the  eye  of  Preble,  and  supported  by  the 
guns  of  the  Constitution  and  the  small  vessels 
composing  the  little  squadron,  partook,  indeed,  of  a 
character  of  heroism  which  call  to  mind  the  an- 
cient struggles  of  Christians  and  Saracens  in  those 
same  waters.  The  hand-to-hand  struggling,  the 
hair-breadth  escapes,  the  brilliant  self-devotion  to 
succour  or  to  save,  all  invest  this  short  period  of 
Preble's  command  with  a  chivalrous  and  heroic 
interest  of  the  highest  stamp. 

It  was  the  fortune  of  Perry  to  have  been  at- 
tached to  the  Mediterranean  station  both  immedi- 
ately before  and  immediately  after  the  command 
of  Commodore  Preble.  Had  he  been  with  him 
throughout  the  brilliant  period  of  his  service,  he 
would  have  associated  his  name  earlier  than  he 
eventually  did  with  the  glory  of  a  Preble,  a  De- 
catur, and  a  Somers ;  he  would  either  have  cov- 
ered himself  with  equal  renown,  or  found,  hke 
some  of  the  heroes  of  that  war,  an  early  grave. 

Intelligence  of  the  earliest  achievements  of  Com- 
modore Preble's  command  had  led  young  Perry  to 
weary  of  his  present  professional  inactivity,  though 
in  itself  not  destitute  for  him  of  pleasure  and  im- 
provement. He  desired  to  be  again  in  the  Medi- 
terranean ;  and  the  loss  of  the  Philadelphia,  which 
left  the  Constitution  the  only  heavy  ship  before 
Tripoli,  determined  the  government,  which  was 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       63 

more  than  ever  resolved  to  prosecute  this  war  to  a 
successful  issue,  to  fit  out  four  additional  frigates. 
The  President,  Congress,  Constellation,  and  Essex 
were  the  ships  selected,  and,  as  there  were  only 
three  captains  in  the  service  junior  to  Commodore 
Preble,  it  was  most  unwisely  determined  to  super- 
sede him  in  the  command.  The  government 
might  have  escaped  from  the  dilemma  by  making 
a  single  additional  captain,  or  it  might  have  de- 
ducted one  ship  from  the  number  of  its  re-enforce- 
ment, so  as  to  have  left  Preble  in  the  command. 
It  could  not  discover  that  the  magic  was  in  the  in- 
dividual. The  predecessors  of  Preble  had  all  the 
advantage  that  could  be  derived  from  the  array  of 
superior  numbers.  Preble  had  the  true  desire  of 
glory;  the  power  of  adapting  his  means  to  the  end; 
the  cool,  unbiased  judgment,  which  could  weigh 
the  difficulties  which  presented  themselves  in  his 
path,  and  justly  estimate  the  chances  of  success. 

The  Constellation,  one  of  the  ships  of  the  new 
squadron,  was  to  be  commanded  by  Captain  H.  G. 
Campbell.  The  partiality  of  Perry's  old  com- 
mander and  friend  readily  induced  him  to  procure 
Perry  to  be  ordered  to  his  ship  as  one  of  his  lieu- 
tenants. The  ship  was  fitted  out  at  Washing-ton. 
This  was  young  Perry's  first  visit  to  that  part  of 
the  country.  In  the  intervals  during  which  his 
professional  duties  permitted  him  to  be  absent 
from  the  ship,  he  visited,  by  invitation,  several 


64  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

families  of  distinction  in  the  neighbourhood,  into 
which  he  was  received  with  kindness  and  hospi- 
tahty. 

The  intelHgence,  urbanity,  frankness,  and  unaf- 
fected good-nature  which  he  everywhere  met  with, 
impressed  him  most  favourably  towards  the  inhab- 
itants, and  from  the  earnestness  with  which  his  so- 
ciety was  sought,  the  favourable  impression  was 
evidently  mutual.  His  youth  and  uncommon  share 
of  good  looks,  enhanced  by  his  intelligence  and 
modesty,  were  qualities  that  would  have  made 
him  circulate  anywhere,  and  it  is  not  be  wondered 
at  that  the  handsome  young  officer  was  no  less  a 
favourite  with  the  young  ladies  of  the  neighbour- 
hood than  with  their  discerning  sires.  His  confi- 
dential letters  of  this  period  to  his  mother  inti- 
mate the  belief  that,  were  he  disposed  to  make  his 
fortune  by  marriage,  the  chances  for  success  would 
not  be  inconsiderable.  His  youth,  however,  he 
considered  an  objection  to  his  taking  upon  himself 
so  weighty  an  obligation. 

Early  in  July  the  Constellation  left  Washing- 
ton, and  soon  after  proceeded  to  the  Mediterra- 
nean. She  arrived  off  Tripoli  in  September,  in 
company  with  the  President,  bearing  the  broad 
pendant  of  Commodore  S.  Barron.  As  the  Con- 
stitution remained  on  the  station,  Commodore 
Preble  having  returned  home  in  the  John  Adams, 
which  had  arrived  shortly  before  as  a  storeship, 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       65 

the  force  under  the  command  of  Commodore  Bar- 
ron, consisting  of  five  frigates  and  five  stout  brigs, 
was  the  most  formidable  squadron  which  had  ever 
been  united  under  the  command  of  an  American 
officer.  With  a  single  frigate,  and  a  few  clumsy 
and  ill-equipped  gunboats.  Commodore  Preble 
had  made  repeated  attacks  on  the  forts,  batteries, 
and  flotilla.  With  the  present  force,  the  master- 
spirit of  Preble,  had  it  been  intrusted  with  a  pro- 
longed command,  would  have  quickly  reduced 
Tripoli  to  ruins  or  unconditional  submission.  No- 
thing, however,  beyond  a  blockade,  which  the  for- 
mer force  could  have  equally  well  effected,  was 
now  achieved ;  and  Perry  and  other  young  men, 
who  had  come  to  the  Mediterranean  with  their 
imaginations  fired  by  the  brilliant  heroism  which 
had  been  so  recently  displayed  in  the  arena  which 
now  lay  before  them,  were  condemned  only  to  see 
near  at  hand  the  heroes  that  were  left  from  so 
many  chivalrous  encounters  decked  with  the  hon- 
ours that  they  had  won  for  themselves,  to  look 
upon  the  scenes  which  they  had  illustrated  and 
ennobled  by  their  valour,  and  to  admire  deeds 
which  they  were  not  permitted  to  imitate. 

Subsequently  to  the  arrival  of  Commodore  Bar- 
ron, some  operations  against  the  power  of  the 
reigning  Bashaw  of  Tripoli,  exceedingly  romantic 
in  their  character,  took  place  on  the  land,  with 
which  the  Constellation  is  believed  to  have  co-op- 
F2 


66  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

crated.  The  reigning  bashaw  did  not  succeed  reg- 
ularly to  the  sovereignty,  but  by  usurpation,  after 
having  deposed  his  elder  brother.  The  deposed 
prince  had  the  good  fortune  to  escape  with  his 
life,  and,  after  many  wanderings,  took  refuge  in 
Egypt  among  the  Mamelukes,  by  whom  he  was 
hospitably  received.  Mr.  Eaton,  our  consul  for 
many  years  in  Tunis,  having  formerly  been  an 
officer  in  the  revolutionary  army,  conceived  the 
project  of  making  use  of  the  deposed  prince  to 
create  an  insurrectionary  army,  which  should  co- 
operate with  our  squadron  before  Tripoli  for  the 
overthrow  of  the  reigning  bashaw.  The  govern- 
ment adopted  his  plan  on  his  arriving  in  the  Uni- 
ted States  to  unfold  it,  and  he  was  sent  out  with 
Commodore  Barron,  with  orders  for  the  latter  to 
aid  him  in  his  enterprise.  Mr.  Eaton  was  accord- 
ingly despatched  to  Alexandria,  accompanied  by 
a  lieutenant  of  marines  and  two  midshipmen,  who 
volunteered  to  take  part  in  this  wild  expedition. 

Mr.  Eaton  lost  no  time  in  placing  himself  in 
communication  with  the  deposed  bashaw.  A  nu- 
merous party  of  adherents  of  the  dethroned  prince, 
refugees  from  Tripoli,  and  adventurers  of  all  na- 
tions, amounting  to  about  five  hundred  men,  was 
speedily  assembled,  and  Mr.  Eaton  assumed  the 
command  with  the  title  of  general.  Traversing 
the  desert,  their  baggage  being  carried  by  camels, 
this  singular  assemblage  arrived,  towards  the  close 


OLIVER    HAZA 

of  April,  before  Dearne,  a  se^ort  toten  X^ftbin  thfe  / 
pachalic  of  Tripoli.  Here  the  general  fell  in  with ' 
the  American  brig  Argus,  and  schooners  Nautilus 
and  Hornet ;  and,  having  received  supplies  of  arms 
and  ammunition,  and  the  vessels  having  taken  their 
stations  so  as  to  aid  in  battering  the  town,  the 
forces  of  General  Eaton  marched  to  the  assault, 
and,  though  resisted  from  behind  the  walls  first, 
and  subsequently  from  house  to  house,  by  more 
than  threefold  numbers,  they  gallantly  made  good 
their  way  into  the  town.  An  army  from  Tripoli 
not  long  after  appeared  before  the  walls,  and  made 
several  desperate  attacks  in  the  hope  of  recovering 
the  stronghold.  They  were,  however,  gallantly 
repulsed  by  General  Eaton ;  and  the  Constellation 
having  opportunely  appeared  in  the  harbour  at  the 
close  of  the  last  attack,  the  enemy  was  throwTi 
into  consternation,  broke  up  the  siege,  and  aban- 
doned their  camp,  with  the  greater  portion  of  their 
heavy  baggage. 

About  this  time,  the  schooner  Nautilus  being  in 
want  of  an  officer,  young  Perry  was  ordered  to 
her  by  Captain  Campbell  as  first  lieutenant,  until 
the  pleasure  of  the  commodore  should  be  known 
as  to  the  appointment. 

Flushed  with  his  successes  at  Dearne,  and  hav- 
ing established  the  lawful  pacha  in  possession  of 
the  second  province  of  the  pachalic,  General  Ea- 
ton now  urged  Commodore  Barron  to  furnish  him 


68  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

with  such  supplies  and  assistance  from  the  squad- 
ron as  he  thought  would  enable  him  to  show  him- 
self before  the  walls  of  Tripoli  with  every  pros- 
pect of  a  speedy  termination  of  the  war.  Tlie 
commodore,  however,  declined  lending  any  more 
extensive  aid  than  he  had  hitherto  afforded,  on 
the  ground  that,  if  the  ex-pacha  possessed  the  in- 
fluence in  the  regency  to  which  he  laid  claim,  he 
was  already  in  a  situation  to  recover  his  authority. 
Soon  after,  Commodore  Barron  retired,  on  account 
of  his  low  state  of  health,  from  the  command  of 
the  squadron,  which  devolved  again  on  Commo- 
dore J.  Rodgers ;  and,  not  long  after,  a  treaty  of 
peace  was  concluded,  in  which  the  claim  for  trib- 
ute was  abandoned  by  Tripoli,  and  ransom  paid 
for  the  American  prisoners  remaining  in  possession 
of  the  regency  after  the  exchange  had  been  made 
for  the  Tripolitans  taken  by  us  during  the  war. 
This  negotiation  brought  General  Eaton's  roman- 
tic expedition  to  a  close,  finding  him  still  at 
Dearne,  where,  though  he  had  advanced  no  far- 
ther, he  had  been  able  to  maintain  himself  against 
every  effort  made  to  dislodge  him. 

On  the  conclusion  of  peace  with  Tripoli,  the 
squadron  proceeded  to  Tunis,  the  government  of 
which  had  made  some  warlike  demonstrations,  in 
consequence  of  our  vessels  off  Tripoli  having  cap- 
tured a  Tunisian  cruiser,  which,  with  two  prizes  in 
company,  had  been  detected  in  an  attempt  to 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       69 

break  the  blockade.  The  bey  had  threatened  our 
consul  with  war  unless  the  vessels  were  instantly- 
restored,  and  had  furthermore  declared  that  the 
arrival  of  our  squadron  in  his  w^aters  would  be 
looked  upon  by  him  as  a  commencement  of  hos- 
tilities. This  threat  did  not  prevent  Commodore 
Rodgers  from  appearing  off  Tunis,  where  his  spir- 
ited conduct,  and  the  formidable  armament,  con- 
sisting in  all  of  thirteen  vessels,  gunboats  included, 
by  which  it  was  enforced,  soon  brought  the  bashaw 
into  a  more  pacific  mood.  He  readily  consented 
to  continue  at  peace  on  the  terms  of  friendship 
heretofore  existing  between  the  two  powers,  and 
so  far  moderated  his  demand  for  the  immediate 
restoration  of  the  prizes  as  to  express  a  wish  to 
send  a  minister  to  Washington,  to  address  his  re- 
quests directly  to  the  president.  In  this  wish  he 
was  indulged,  and  his  minister  soon  after  embarked 
for  the  United  States  in  the  frigate  Congress,  com- 
manded by  Decatur. 

At  this  conjuncture,  the  Constellation,  in  which 
young  Perry  had  come  out,  returned  to  the  United 
States.  Being  desirous  of  seeing  more  active  ser- 
vice, and  to  obtain  farther  practice  in  schooner- 
sailing,  he  remained  on  board  the  Nautilus.  This 
vessel  was  now  despatched  to  Algiers,  where  she 
arrived  at  the  moment  of  one  of  those  frequent 
insurrections  by  which  the  form  of  government 
was  wont  to  be  summarily  changed  in  that  regen- 


70  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

cy.  The  dey  had  rendered  himself  obnoxious  both 
to  the  people  and  the  soldiery  by  his  extortion  and 
cruelty.  These  broke  out  in  revolt,  and,  headed 
by  a  captain  of  one  of  the  cruisers,  presented  them- 
selves at  the  castle,  announced  to  the  dey  his  de- 
position, and  told  him  to  fly  immediately  to  a 
mosque  if  he  would  save  his  life.  The  dey  went 
forth  for  the  purpose,  attended  by  his  vizier,  and 
both  were  cut  to  pieces  as  they  cleared  the  outer 
gate  of  the  castle.  The  heads  of  his  adherents, 
and  those  who  had  grown  rich  under  his  favour, 
fell  profusely  on  every  side ;  and,  at  the  end  of  an 
hour,  a  new  dey  was  installed,  salutes  were  fired, 
and  all  was  once  more  as  noiseless  and  tranquil  as 
despotism  could  desire. 

From  Algiers  the  Nautilus  proceeded  to  Gib- 
raltar, to  meet  the  commodore's  despatches  and 
procure  supplies.  In  a  letter  to  his  mother  from 
this  place,  dated  in  September,  1805,  young  Per- 
ry gives  the  particulars  of  his  recent  visit  to  Al- 
giers. He  also  mentions  that  an  army  of  fifteen 
thousand  Spaniards  were  encamped  before  the 
Rock  of  Gibraltar.  They  were  speedily  to  be  re- 
enforced  by  an  equal  number  of  French,  when 
they  were  to  make  an  attack  on  the  fortress  which 
Napoleon  was  so  anxious  to  possess.  Perry  men- 
tions that  the  officers  of  the  garrison  were  very 
confident  in  their  ability  to  resist  the  assailants, 
and  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  their  confidence 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       71 

was  well  founded.  He  mentions  that  he  had  been 
very  kindly  noticed  by  the  commodore  on  the  oc- 
casion of  his  last  visit  to  the  flag-ship,  and  had 
been  offered  orders,  on  the  return  of  the  Nautilus 
to  the  rendezvous  at  Syracuse,  either  to  the  eigh- 
teen-gun  brig  Siren  as  first  lieutenant,  or  to  the 
commodore's  own  ship,  the  Constitution.  His  let- 
ters manifest,  as  in  his  younger  days,  the  most  af- 
fectionate interest  in  his  parents  and  brothers  and 
sisters.  His  expressions  of  endearment  are  more 
than  usually  tender,  and  his  eagerness  to  obtain 
information  as  to  the  welfare  of  those  whom  he 
loved  extreme.  They  manifest,  moreover,  a  tender 
solicitude,  not  unsuited  to  his  age,  for  the  welfare 
of  fair  friends,  concerning  whom  his  mother  had 
failed  to  give  him  information. 

When  the  Nautilus  again  fell  in  with  the  flag- 
ship, Perry  was  ordered  by  the  commodore  to  the 
Constitution.  The  commodore  had  been  attracted 
by  his  appearance,  manners,  and  conversation;  and 
in  desiring  to  have  him  transferred  to  his  own  ship, 
had  felt  some  anxiety  lest  the  tall  boy — for  in  age 
and  appearance  he  was  little  more — should  fail  to 
come  up  to  that  high  standard  of  seamanship  and 
officer-like  bearing  which  the  commodore  ever 
exhibited  in  himself  and  required  in  his  officers. 
His  misgivings  in  this  respect  were,  however, 
soon  set  at  rest;  and  he  found  that  young  Perry 
Lad  so  well  employed  his  six  years  of  almost  un- 


72  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

interrupted  service,  that  he  was  an  excellent  sea- 
man, while  his  manner  as  an  officer  was  in  all 
respects  admirable,  calm,  gentlemanly,  dignified, 
and  self-possessed.  He  was  at  this  time,  as  ever 
after,  rigorous  in  the  observance  of  that  etiquette 
which  is  one  of  the  most  useful  barriers  against 
irregularity  and  insubordination. 

One  of  the  earliest  occasions  of  his  attracting 
the  attention  of  the  commodore  was  on  his  ma- 
king a  complaint  of  a  want  of  observance  on 
board  the  flag-ship  of  the  customary  mode  of  re- 
ceiving officers  of  his  grade.  This  occurred  while 
he  was  first  lieutenant  of  the  Nautilus.  It  had 
been  the  subject  of  remark,  that  the  lieutenants  of 
the  other  vessels  were  not  always  received  with 
the  usual  honours,  the  boatswain's  mates'  piping 
the  side,  the  side-boys  laying  over  to  hold  out  the 
man-ropes,  and  the  lieutenant  of  the  watch  at  the 
gangway  to  receive  his  equal  in  grade.  The  lieu- 
tenants of  the  small  vessels,  whose  sense  of  their 
dignity  is  usually  in  the  inverse  ratio  of  the  size 
of  their  vessel,  were  not  a  little  shocked  at  the 
omission.  Young  Perry  said  that  the  neglect 
ought  to  be  remedied;  and,  accordingly,  on  the 
first  occasion  of  his  going  on  board  the  flag-ship, 
finding  that  the  omission  took  place  in  his  case, 
and  that  the  complaint  was  true,  stated  the  cir- 
cumstance immediately  to  the  commodore,  who 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       73 

caused  the  proper  honours  to  be  thereafter  studi- 
ously observed. 

Perry's  manner  as  an  officer,  and  mode  of  car- 
rying on  duty  at  this  early  period,  has  obtained 
the  highest  eulogium  that  it  could  receive  from 
one  at  that  time  his  junior,  the  late  Captain  John 
Orde  Creighton,  himself  so  distinguished  for  his 
elegant  manner  of  working  ship.  He  was  accus- 
tomed to  speak  of  the  effect  produced  upon  him 
when  he  first  heard  young  Perry  manceuvring  the 
Constitution  as  officer  of  the  deck ;  the  admirable 
skill  which  he  displayed  being  enhanced  by  the 
ease,  grace,  and  dignity  of  his  manner,  and  the 
matchless  clearness  and  melody  of  his  voice.  The 
intonations  of  young  Perry  remained  long  after 
upon  his  ear,  and  his  whole  manner  and  deport- 
ment became  the  object  of  his  emulation. 

In  the  course  of  the  cruise  in  the  Constitution, 
Perry  so  effectually  secured  the  approbation  and 
kind  feelings  of  Commodore  Rodgers,  that  when, 
after  the  satisfactory  settlement  of  our  various 
difficulties  with  the  Barbary  powers,  that  officer 
prepared,  towards  the  close  of  the  summer  of 
1806,  to  return  home,  and  shifted  his  flag  for  that 
purpose  to  the  Essex,  he  took  his  young  friend 
with  him  to  that  ship,  in  which  he  returned  to  the 
United  States,  where  he  arrived  in  October.  On 
board  the  Essex  Perry  found  in  Mr.  Daniel  Mur- 
ray a  brother  officer  of  congeuial  spirit,  with 
G 


74  AMERICAN     BIOGRAPHY. 

whom  he  formed  a  warm  and  lasting  friendship. 
From  this  gentleman  we  are  able  to  obtain  the 
following  slight  reminiscence  of  the  homeward 
voyage  of  the  Essex,  and  of  the  character  and 
manners  of  Perry  at  this  period  :  "  My  intercourse 
with  him  previously  had  been  slight  and  casual ; 
although  on  the  same  station,  we  had  rarely  been 
throw^n  together.  On  examining  the  dates  of  our 
commissions,  I  found  that  he  ranked  me,  and  he 
came  home  second  lieutenant  of  the  Essex.  Du- 
ring our  passage  home,  which  was  a  very  long 
one,  within  a  few  days  of  two  months,  I  had  great 
pleasure  in  cultivating  Perry's  acquaintance.  His 
fine  temper,  gentle  manners,  and  manly  bearing, 
soon  attracted  and  attached  me  to  him  strongly, 
and  I  beheve  our  regard  to  each  other  was  as  sin- 
cere as  it  was  lasting,  having  been  uninterrupted 
to  his  death.  I  regret  that  I  can  lend  but  little 
assistance  towards  a  minute  narration  of  the  inci- 
dents of  the  first  few  years  of  his  service.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  they  were  well,  and,  I  should 
think,  unusually  well  employed ;  for  his  age  when 
in  the  Essex  could  not  have  been  much  more  than 
twenty-one,  and  he  was  then  an  excellent  seaman, 
an  accomplished  officer,  and  a  well-bred  gentle- 
man. His  subsequent  glorious  career  was  just 
what  I  had  anticipated." 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       75 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Ferry  resumes  his  Studies  at  Newport. — Falls  in 
Love. — Is  employed  in  building  Gunboats. — Is  en- 
gaged to  be  Married. — Sails  for  New-  York  with 
Flotilla. — Employed  in  Protection  of  the  Harbour, 
— Attack  of  the  Leopard  on  the  Chesapeake. — 
Perry^s  Feelings  on  the  occasion. — British  Spoli- 
ations on  our  Commerce. — Our  inability  to  pro- 
tect it. — Perry  ordered  to  build  more  Gunboats. — 
Appointed  to  command  the  Revenge. — Attached  to 
Commodore  Rodgers^s  Squadron.  —  Ordered  to 
Washington  to  reft.  —  Sails  for  Charleston. — 
Cruises  on  Southern  Coast.  —  Encounter  with  a 
British  Sloop. — Expects  an  Engagement. — Pre- 
pares to  board,  —  Pacific  Termination.  —  Returns 
to  Charleston. — Proceeds  to  New-York. — Receives 
Instructions  from  Commodore  Rodgers. — Is  or- 
dered to  Newport. — Engaged  in  a  Survey  of  the 
Sound. — Shipwreck  of  the  Revenge. — Ineffectual 
efforts  to  save  her. — Crew  saved. — Court  of  In- 
quiry.—  Perry  honourably  acquitted.  —  Furlough- 
ed. — Married. 

On  the  return  of  young  Perry  to  Newport  in  the 
autumn  of  1806,  he  resumed  with  dihgence  his 
mathematical  and  miscellaneous  studies.  Having, 
however,  revived  his  intimacies  of  former  years, 


76  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

he  was  soon  drawn  into  the  gayeties  of  the  place, 
and  thus  led  to  make  an  acquaintance  which,  for 
a  season,  effectually  put  to  flight  his  mathematical 
reveries.  In  January,  1807,  at  an  assembly,  he  first 
met  the  lady  who  subsequently  became  his  wife 
— Miss  Elizabeth  Champlin  Mason.  She  had 
not  yet  completed  her  sixteenth  year ;  was  just  en- 
tering life  in  the  first  bloom  of  loveliness,  spark- 
ling with  feeling,  intelligence,  and  talent,  and  gift- 
ed with  a  thousand  rare  qualities  of  truth,  simpli- 
city, fortitude,  and  warm-hearted  affection,  which 
have  steadfastly  attended  her  through  many  a 
scene  of  joy  and  one  of  sorrow. 

The  professional  employment  of  young  Perry  at 
Newport  favoured  their  frequent  meeting,  and  the 
acquaintance  thus  begun  soon  ripened  into  love. 
It  was  the  season  of  the  gunboat  and  embargo 
policy,  that  wretched  system  of  supplying  protec- 
tion to  our  commerce  from  foreign  spoliation,  by 
annihilating  it ;  of  blockading  our  own  harbours, 
and  defending  their  egress  against  our  own  mer- 
chant vessels  by  means  of  gunboats,  suited  only  to 
invite  the  aggression  of  belligerants  at  home  by  so 
futile  a  preparation  to  resist  it,  instead  of  accom- 
panying our  commerce,  wherever  it  had  a  right  to 
go,  by  formidable  squadrons  for  its  protection. 

Perry  having  been  appointed  to  superintend  the 
construction  of  seventeen  gunboats  at  Newport, 
"was  employed  for  several  months  in  the  neigh- 


OLIVER     HAZARD    PERRY.  77 

bourhood  where  he  was  most  desirous  of  remain- 
ing. Associated  with  him  in  this  duty  was  his  in- 
timate friend  and  late  shipmate  in  the  Constella- 
tion, Lieutenant  Samuel  G.  Blodgett,  with  whom, 
in  what  concerned  his  obligations  as  an  officer 
and  the  dearest  feelings  of  his  heart,  he  could 
freely  sympathize.  It  is  creditable  to  young  Per- 
ry, and  shows  the  confidence  of  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment, based  upon  the  favourable  report  of  his  va- 
rious commanders,  that  he  should  have  been  cho- 
sen at  so  early  an  age  to  build,  equip,  and  com- 
mand this  large  detachment  of  gunboats;  and  the 
circumstance  of  his  being  ready  in  June  to  proceed 
with  his  force  to  New-York,  shows  that,  with  every 
private  motive  to  delay,  he  must  have  used  great 
energy  and  despatch  in  the  execution  of  the  ser- 
vice intrusted  to  him.  Before  his  departure  for 
New- York  he  became  the  pledged  and  accepted 
lover  of  Miss  Mason. 

The  detachment  of  gunboats  under  the  com- 
mand of  Lieutenant  Perry  was  employed,  with 
the  rest  of  the  flotilla  stationed  at  New-York,  in 
endeavours  to  protect  the  harbour  and  adjacent 
waters  from  the  encroachments  of  the  English  and 
French  belligerants,  especially  the  former.  It  was 
while  he  was  employed  in  this  service  that  the 
British  filled  up  the  measure  of  insult  and  san- 
guinary outrage  of  our  flag,  by  the  attack  of  the 
Chesapeake  frigate  by  the  double-decked  ship 
G2 


78  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

Leopard,  which  lay  at  anchor  within  our  own  wa* 
ters  in  Lynnhaven,Bay,  waiting  for  the  saihng  of 
the  Chesapeake,  in  order  to  take  from  her  certain 
alleged  deserters.  While  the  humane  feelings  of 
the  country  were  wounded  by  the  causeless  slaugh- 
ter of  a  number  of  Americans,  the  national  sense 
of  honour  was  stung  into  keen  resentment  by  the 
mortifying  reflection  that  no  effort  had  been  made 
to  maintain  the  glory  of  our  flag  ere  it  was  lower- 
ed in  dishonour.  The  feeling  with  which  Perry 
received  the  intelligence  of  this  cold-blooded  at- 
tack is  expressed  in  a  letter  written  soon  after  to 
his  father,  who  was  at  that  time  abroad.  It  is  in- 
teresting, as  showing  the  feeling  with  which  he  en- 
tered the  struggle  with  England  w^hich  soon  after 
ensued;  and  his  warning  for  her  to  "beware!" 
has  since  proved  to  be  prophetic.  "  You  must, 
ere  this,  have  heard  of  the  outrage  committed  by 
the  British  on  our  national  honour,  and  feel  with 
us  all  the  indignation  that  so  barbarous  and  cow- 
ardly an  act  must  naturally  inspire.  Thank  God ! 
all  parties  are  now  united  in  the  determination  to 
resent  so  flagrant  an  insult.  There  is  but  one  sen- 
timent pervading  the  bosom  of  every  American 
from  North  to  South.  The  British  may  laugh,  but 
let  them  beware  !  for  never  has  the  public  indig- 
nation been  so  completely  aroused  since  the  glo- 
rious revolution  that  made  us  a  nation  of  freemen. 
The  utmost  spirit  prevails  throughout  the  United 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  79 

States  in  preparing  for  an  event  which  is  thought 
inevitable,  and  our  officers  wait  with  impatience 
for  the  signal  to  be  given  to  wipe  away  the  stain 
which  the  misconduct  of  one  has  cast  on  our  flag." 
The  elder  Perry  could  fully  sympathize  with 
this  indignation  of  his  son.  He  had  returned  to 
the  merchant  service,  in  which  he  had  been  for 
some  years  employed,  either  as  a  master  or  super- 
cargo. On  a  recent  voyage  in  command  of  an 
Indiaman,  he  had  been  detained  by  a  British  cruis- 
er at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  under  some  one  of 
the  vexatious  orders  in  council.  A  daily  visit  to 
the  ship  of  the  commanding  officer,  to  plead  for 
the  release  of  his  property  from  unjust  detention, 
called  forth  almost  daily  some  new  indignity,  until, 
outraged  on  one  occasion  beyond  endurance  by 
some  taunt  to  his  country,  he  knocked  down  the 
officer  of  the  deck  from  whom  he  had  received 
the  insult.  From  the  unpleasant  consequences  in 
which  this  affair  involved  him,  he  was  released  by 
the  interference  of  an  officer  of  rank,  whom,  when 
a  soldier  of  the  Kingston  Reds,  he  had  assisted  in 
taking  prisoner,  and  whom  he  had  carried  behind 
him  on  horseback  to  his  father's  house,  where  the 
prisoner  had  been  hospitably  entertained.  More 
recently,  Captain  Perry  had  been  detained,  with 
other  American  shipmasters,  in  Lisbon,  where  a 
fresh  insult  against  his  country  had  involved  him 
in  a  duel  with  a  British  officer,  in  which  his  antag- 


80  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

onist  had  been  wounded.  He  could  therefore  fully 
sympathize  in  the  indignation  expressed  by  his  son, 
and  only  regret  that  his  separation  from  the  naval 
service  of  his  country  should  prevent  him  from  ta- 
king part  in  the  struggle  which  had  now  become 
inevitable. 

The  war,  which  at  that  time  was  almost  univer- 
sal among  the  other  maritime  nations  of  the  world, 
had  thrown  nearly  all  the  carrying  trade  into  the 
hands  of  our  merchant  ships.  This  exemption 
from  the  evils  of  war,  and  the  immense  profit  we 
were  deriving  from  our  pacific  and  neutral  position, 
excited  much  jealousy  on  the  part  of  England  and 
France,  the  two  principal  belligerants.  Impelled 
by  this  jealousy,  and  by  the  predatory  spirit  which 
war  invariably  engenders  ;  stimulated,  moreover, 
by  the  desire  of  depriving  each  other  of  the  ad- 
vantages which  they  were  mutually  deriving  from 
our  trade,  these  nations  took  advantage  of  its  un- 
protected state  to  pursue  towards  it  a  system  of 
legalized  spoliation.  England  had  led  the  way 
with  an  order  to  her  cruisers  to  capture  all  neutral 
merchant  ships  trading  to  the  colonies  of  a  belH- 
gerant  at  war  with  England,  w^hich  belligerant  did 
not  permit  such  trade  to  her  colonies  during  peace. 
This  order  was  ostensibly  intended  to  distress  the 
French  colonies  in  the  West  Indies  and  elsewhere ; 
its  immediate  effects  fell  almost  entirely  on  our 
commerce.   Not  long  after,  she  declared  the  coasts 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       81 

of  France,  Holland,  and  Germany,  from  Brest  to 
the  Elbe,  in  a  state  of  blockade ;  and,  though  such 
rigorous  and  effective  blockade  as  is  necessary  to 
constitute  a  legal  one  was  manifestly  impossible 
over  an  extent  of  coast,  including  all  its  inflexions, 
of  more  than  eight  hundred  miles,  yet  she  so  far 
enforced  it  as  to  make  captures  of  such  vessels  as 
were  accidentally  detected  in  approaching  these 
forbidden  shores.  The  French  emperor,  though 
still  less  able  to  blockade  the  whole  British  coast, 
followed  the  example  of  England,  and  proclaimed 
it  in  a  state  of  blockade ;  his  cruisers  and  priva- 
teers actually  making  captures  of  neutral  vessels 
on  a  coast  where  they  only  appeared  themselves 
as  fugitives,  and  at  the  imminent  peril  of  capture. 
Such  a  system  of  warfare,  in  violation  of  all  the 
hitherto  established  rights  of  neutrals,  had  a  ruin- 
ous effect  upon  our  trade,  and  threatened  it  with 
absolute  annihilation.  The  improvidence  of  the 
government,  and  the  sordid  policy  which  it  had 
pursued  towards  the  navy,  left  it  without  the 
means  of  convoying  our  ships  with  formidable 
squadrons,  and  causing  our  rights  to  be  respected. 
Even  at  that  late  hour  for  preparation  for  maritime 
defence,  such  ships  as  we  possessed  might  have 
been  fitted  out,  and  others  built,  and  sent  abroad 
for  the  protection  of  our  commerce.  It  was  more 
congenial  to  the  narrow  and  timid  policy  of  that 
day  to  recall  our  commerce  from  the  ocean,  than 


82  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

to  follow  and  protect  it  there.  It  was  in  this  spirit 
that  the  embargo  was  proclaimed  towards  the 
close  of  1807,  and  evils  not  less  ruinous  than  the 
spoliations  of  the  belligerants  inflicted  by  ourselves. 
Instead  of  sending  forth  line-of-battle  ships  and 
frigates  to  convoy  our  merchant  ships,  it  became 
necessary  to  have  fresh  recourse  to  the  panacea  of 
gunboats,  and  one  hundred  and  eighty-eight  ad- 
ditional boats  were  ordered  to  be  built,  which  car- 
ried the  whole  number  of  this  class  of  vessels  to 
two  hundred  and  fifty-seven,  whose  means  of  an 
noyance  were  directed  against  our  own  vessels,  to 
prevent  them  from  departing,  and  to  maintain  an 
effective  blockade  of  our  own  ports. 

Lieutenant  Perry  had  so  satisfactorily  acquitted 
himself  of  the  duty  of  constructing  and  equipping 
the  seventeen  gunboats,  which  he  had  carried  to 
New- York  and  continued  for  a  season  to  command 
there,  that  he  was  now  ordered  to  commence  the 
construction  of  an  additional  number,  which  were 
forthwith  laid  down  at  Westerly,  on  the  Pawcatuck 
River,  which  forms  the  western  boundary  of  Rhode 
Island,  and  at  the  adjacent  village  of  Norwich,  in 
Connecticut.  In  the  construction  of  these  boats 
he  was  employed  from  the  beginning  of  February, 
1808,  until  April,  1809,  when,  the  vessels  being 
completed,  their  farther  equipment  was  suspended. 

In  the  same  month  he  was  appointed  to  succeed 
Lieutenant  Jacob  Jones  on  board  the  schooner  Re- 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       83 

venge.  of  fourteen  guns,  then  attached  to  the 
squadron  under  the  command  of  Commodore  Rodg- 
ers,  who  had  his  flag  on  board  the  Constitution. 
This  squadron,  consisting  of  four  frigates,  five 
sloops,  and  a  number  of  smaller  vessels,  had  been, 
as  an  after -thought  to  the  gunboat  system,  v^risely 
placed  in  commission,  to  assist  in  guarding  our  neu- 
trality and  protecting  the  sovereignty  of  our  own 
coasts.  The  outrage  on  the  Chesapeake  had  quick- 
ened the  resentment,  while  it  excited  the  watch- 
fulness of  our  little  navy.  With  the  probability 
of  a  war  with  England  mingled  the  reflection  that 
we  should  have  to  contend  with  a  formidable  foe, 
to  quicken  the  zeal  of  our  officers  in  preparing  for 
the  struggle,  and  the  chivalrous  hope  to  wipe 
away  the  stain  on  the  honour  of  the  profession, 
which  it  had  received  in  that  ignominious  encoun- 
ter. The  flower  of  our  navy  was  rescued  from 
the  gunboat  service  and  its  inevitably  deteriorating 
effects,  the  tendency  of  which  was  to  destroy  the 
discipline,  moral  character,  and  tone  of  the  profes- 
sion, and  collected  on  board  of  a  few  ships  of 
force,  under  commanders  who  had  been  trained  at 
Tripoli,  the  whole  being  under  the  orders  of  Com- 
modore Rodgers.  Under  the  watchful  guidance 
of  this  skilful  and  intrepid  seaman  and  exactly 
rigid  officer,  our  navy  was  brought  to  a  state  of 
discipline,  efficiency,  and  readiness  for  action  which 
has  never  been  surpassed.    If  accident  subsequent- 


84  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

ly  prevented  that  consummate  commander  from 
encountering  an  enemy  of  equal  force  during  the 
war,  the  victories  that  were  won  by  his  more  for- 
tunate pupils  were  not  a  little  owing  to  the  train- 
ing, discipline,  and  readiness  for  service  which  he 
had  so  universally  introduced. 

After  cruising  during  the  summer  and  winter  in 
company  with  the  squadron.  Perry  was  ordered, 
in  April,  1810,  to  proceed  with  the  Revenge  to 
Washington,  to  undergo  extensive  repairs  at  the 
navy-yard  of  that  place.  It  is  recorded  in  the 
log-book  of  the  Revenge,  that,  in  passing  Mount 
Vernon  in  ascending  the  Potomac,  the  schooner 
fired  a  salute  in  honour  of  its  former  possessor, 
whose  remains  still  repose  there.  This  has  been 
an  honourable  custom  of  our  national  vessels  in 
passing  this  consecrated  spot  ever  since  we  have 
had  a  navy ;  and  though,  in  the  regulations  with 
regard  to  salutes,  no  provision  is  made  for  one  on 
such  an  occasion,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  it  may 
never  be  omitted,  and,  in  order  to  this  object,  that 
it  may  be  legalized  by  an  express  regulation. 

The  Revenge,  having  been  put  in  order  for  a 
cruise,  sailed  from  Washington  on  the  twentieth  of 
May,  bound  to  Charleston,  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  which  place  she  was  ordered  to  be  employed. 
Having  touched  at  Norfolk,  she  proceeded  to  sea, 
and  arrived  safely  at  her  destination,  after  a  bois- 
terous passage,  without  other  accident  or  adven- 


OLIVER    HAZARD    F^kRY.  85 


ture  of  note  recorded  in  the  log-book  than  the 
falling  overboard  of  a  man,  who,  notwithstanding 
that  it  blew  fresh  and  the  schooner  was  going  free 
under  a  press  of  sail,  was  recovered.  The  circum- 
stance is  thus  sententiously  recorded  in  the  log- 
book :  "  At  ten,  thirty,  Johnson  Dickson,  marine, 
fell  overboard.  Rounded  to,  out  boat,  brought 
him  safe  on  board."  We  shall  see  in  the  sequel, 
and  it  is  at  once  an  evidence  of  Perry's  humane 
feelings  acting  to  excite  and  quicken  him,  and  of 
his  skilful  seamanship,  that  he  was  unusually  suc- 
cessful in  his  efforts  to  rescue  shipwrecked  and 
drowning  men. 

On  the  twenty-second  of  June,  the  Revenge 
again  put  to  sea  from  Charleston,  for  the  purpose 
of  cruising  on  the  neighbouring  coast  and  protect- 
ing our  waters  against  the  encroachments  of  the 
British  cruisers  that  were  hovering  about  the  coast, 
and  of  the  French,  should  any  be  encountered. 
The  orders  under  which  he  acted  were  to  protect 
our  merchantmen,  and  those  of  all  other  nations 
within  our  waters,  extending  to  the  distance  of  a 
marine  league  from  the  coast,  from  capture  or  mo- 
lestation. Any  foreign  cruiser  or  privateer  at- 
tempting to  molest  such  merchant  vessels  was  to 
be  captured  and  sent  in  for  adjudication.  Any 
private  armed  vessel  found  hovering  within  our 
waters  as  thus  described,  with  a  view  of  making 
captures,  was  to  be  ordered  off,  and  force  used  to 
H 


86  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

compel  her  departure.  If  such  vessel  had  in- 
creased her  armament  in  the  United  States,  she 
was  to  he  sent  in  for  adjudication.  Any  citizens 
of  the  United  States  found  affording  aid  as  pilots, 
or  by  furnishing  suppUes  to  such  vessels  hovering 
on  the  coast,  were  to  be  reported  to  the  nearest 
United  States  attorney  for  prosecution. 

In  the  middle  of  July,  while  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Cumberland  Island  on  the  coast  of  Geor- 
gia, the  deputy  United  States  marshal  arrived  on 
board  the  Revenge  with  a  warrant  from  the  Uni- 
ted States  district  judge  for  the  seizure  of  a  ship 
then  lying  in  Spanish  waters,  off  Amelia  Island, 
under  English  colours,  and  bearing  the  fictitious 
name  of  Angel,  though  known  to  be  the  ship  Di- 
ana, of  Wiscasset.  It  seems  that  the  master  of  this 
vessel,  by  name  James  Tibbets  and  by  birth  an 
Englishman,  had  fraudulently  retained  possession 
of  the  ship  during  several  years,  refusing  to  return 
with  her  to  the  United  States,  as  the  owners  had 
urgently  and  repeatedly  ordered  him  to  do.  Per- 
mission had  been  obtained  from  the  Spanish  gov- 
ernor of  Amelia  Island  for  the  American  authori- 
ties to  take  possession  of  the  Diana,  he  being  con- 
vinced that  she  was  really  an  American  vessel,  be- 
longing to  the  individuals  in  whose  behalf  she  was 
claimed.  The  ship  was,  however,  lying  under  the 
battery  of  the  British  gunbrig  Plumper  and  schoon- 
er Jupiter,  and,  as  she  wore  English  colours,  it  was 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       87 

presumed  that  Tibbets  had  procured  from  the  Eng- 
lish commander  a  promise  of  assistance :  a  pre- 
sumption rendered  reasonable  enough  by  the  fre- 
quent outrages  of  every  sort  committed  by  British 
cruisers  on  our  commerce. 

Lieutenant  Perry  immediately  yielded  to  the  re- 
quest of  the  marshal  that  he  would,  take  posses- 
sion of  the  Diana,  and,  having  called  to  his  assist- 
ance three  gunboats  stationed  in  the  river  St 
Mary's,  so  as  to  reduce  the  disparity  of  his  force 
with  the  English  force  with  which  he  was  likely 
to  have  to  contend,  he  proceeded  to  Amelia  Isl- 
and and  took  possession  of  the  Diana,  carrying 
her  from  under  the  guns  of  the  English  cruisers, 
and  anchoring  her  off  Cumberland  Island.  At 
the  request  of  the  agent,  he  now  placed  the  sail- 
ing-master of  the  Revenge  on  board  of  the  Diana 
as  master,  to  prosecute  her  voyage  to  Europe,  and 
in  a  few  days  stood  to  sea  in  company  with  her, 
to  convoy  her  off  the  coast.  Before  clearing  the 
land,  a  large  sail  was  discovered  bearing  down 
upon  them  from  the  southward  and  eastward. 
This  was  soon  ascertained  to  be  a  British  sloop-of- 
war.  The  Revenge  was  cleared  for  action  so 
soon  as  the  stranger  was  made  out  to  be  a  cruiser. 
The  ship  rounded  to  alongside  of  the  Revenge, 
and  sent  an  officer  on  board  of  her  to  state  that 
the  sloop  was  H.  B.  M.  ship  Goree,  Captain  Byng, 
and  to  request  that  the  commander  of  the  schoon- 


88  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

er  would  come  on  board  and  explain  the  character 
of  his  vessel.  Lieutenant  Perry  returned  a  dis- 
tmct  refusal ;  and  having  no  idea  of  being  "  Leop- 
ardized"  without  one  blow  for  the  honour  of  the 
flag  if  his  reply  should  prove  displeasing,  and 
having  little  hope  of  resisting  in  a  fair  cannonade 
with  a  vessel  of  double  his  force,  he  took  a  fa- 
vourable position  for  boarding  at  a  moment's 
warning  in  case  of  a  shot  or  any  show  of  hostil- 
ity from  the  Goree.  He  was  prepared  to  lead  his 
whole  crew  over  the  bulwarks,  armed  with  cut- 
lasses, pistols,  and  battleaxes,  the  instant  the  two 
vessels  should  be  in  contact,  and  the  suddenness 
and  audacity  of  the  assault  might  well  have  ren- 
dered it  successful.  This  is  the  opinion  of  the  of- 
ficer from  whom  the  anecdote,  which  is  confirmed 
by  the  logbook,  was  received,  William  Sinclair, 
Esq.,  now  a  purser  in  the  navy,  and  who  served 
on  board  the  Revenge  as  midshipman.  He  states, 
"  Our  crew  consisted  of  about  ninety  good  men ; 
and,  although  the  attempt  to  board  might  appear 
desperate,  yet  it  was  our  belief  at  the  time  that, 
considering  the  Goree  would  not  expect  such  an 
attempt,  our  gallant  commander  would  have  suc- 
ceeded. His  cool  self-possession  and  admirable 
command  of  feature  inspired  every  soul  with  en- 
thusiastic confidence,  and  foreshadowed  that  gal- 
lant exploit  on  the  lake  which  has  rendered  his 
name  immortal." 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       89 

Fortunately,  the  captain  of  the  Goree  was  a  rea- 
sonable man,  and  probably  saw  the  impropriety  of 
enforcing  what  he  had  asked  for;  he  sent  back 
his  boat  with  a  request  that  an  officer  might  be 
sent  from  the  Revenge  to  give  the  necessary  in- 
formation as  to  her  character;  and  as  this  was 
merely  doing  what  Captain  Byng  had  already 
done,  the  request  was  readily  granted,  and  a  boat 
and  officer  in  like  manner  sent  from  the  Revenge 
to  the  Goree,  to  state  the  character  of  the  Re- 
venge and  the  name  of  her  commander:  a  name 
which  a  very  few  years  later  would  have  been 
a  familiar  one. 

The  valuable  services  rendered  by  Lieutenant 
Perry  in  recovering  the  Diana  called  for  the 
warmest  thanks  of  those  who  were  interested  in 
her,  and  the  circumstances  attending  it  becaipe 
known  to  the  country  in  consequence  of  the  pub- 
lication by  the  secretary  of  the  navy  of  the  fol- 
lowing letter,  addressed  by  the  agents  of  the  ship 
to  Lieutenant  Perry,  with  a  request  that  a  copy  of 
it  might  be  forwarded  to  the  secretary  of  the  na- 
vy :  "  The  Diana  having  arrived  at  Savannah  in 
safety,  and  sailed  again  upon  her  destined  voyage, 
we  avail  ourselves  of  the  opportunity  to  inform  you 
thereof,  and  to  tender  to  yourself  and  to  the  gen- 
tlemen of  the  squadron  in  the  river  St.  Mary's, 
under  your  command  while  there,  in  behalf  of 
ourselves  and  the  owners  of  the  ship,  our  warmest 
H2 


90  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

thanks  for  the  zeal  and  anxiety  manifested  hy  you 
for  the  honour  and  prosperity  of  the  American 
flag.  We  cannot  close  this  letter  of  thanks  with- 
out expressing  our  admiration  of  the  firmness  and 
decision,  properly  tempered  with  moderation, 
evinced  hy  you,  when  it  seemed  probable,  from  the 
reports  in  circulation,  that  a  hostile  course  might 
have  been  adopted  against  the  Diana,  and  of  the 
complete  state  of  preparation  in  which  you  con- 
stantly held  yourself  to  repel  any  attack  upon  the 
sovereignty  of  the  United  States." 

After  cruising  a  short  time  on  the  coast  of  Geor- 
gia, the  Revenge  returned  to  Charleston.  This 
was  her  place  of  rendezvous  and  of  refittal  while 
on  this  station.  Charleston  was  at  that  time  a 
naval  station,  and  the  command  vested  for  many 
years  in  Commodore  Campbell,  Perry's  old  cap- 
tain during  two  cruises  to  the  Mediterranean.  The 
partiality  which  the  old  gentleman  had  always 
felt  for  his  youthful  officer,  and  which  had  showed 
itself  in  forwarding  his  promotion  to  a  lieutenant 
at  a  very  early  age,  continued  still  to  follow  him 
with  acts  of  kindness.  His  leisure  hours  at  Charles- 
ton, in  the  brief  intervals  of  his  cruises,  were  al- 
ways pleasantly  spent  in  the  society  of  his  old 
commander  and  of  a  numerous  circle  of  friends, 
with  whom  his  acquaintance  dated  from  this  pe- 
riod, and  who  watched  his  future  career  with  no- 
little  interest. 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       91 

On  the  10th  of  August  the  Revenge  left  Charles- 
ton for  New-York,  where  she  was  again  attached 
to  the  squadron  under  Commodore  Rodgers,  en- 
gaged in  the  protection  of  our  coast  from  Cape 
Henry  to  the  eastern  limit  of  the  United  States. 
Here  he  received  a  circular  from  the  commodore, 
enclosing  another  from  the  secretary  of  the  navy, 
which  he  was  ordered  to  communicate  to  his  ofR- 
cers  and  crew.  "  You,  like  every  other  patriotic 
American,"  it  stated,  "  have  observed  and  deeply 
felt  the  injuries  and  insults  heaped  on  our  country 
by  the  two  great  belhgerants  of  Europe  ;  and  you 
must  also  believe  that  from  neither  are  we  to  ex- 
pect liberality  or  justice,  but,  on  the  contrary,  that 
no  opportunity  will  be  lost  of  adding  to  the  out- 
rages to  which  for  years  we  have  been  subjected. 
Among  these  stands  most  conspicuous  the  inhuman 
and  dastardly  attack  on  our  frigate  Chesapeake ; 
an  outrage  which  prostrated  the  flag  of  our  coun- 
try, and  has  imposed  on  the  American  people  cause 
of  ceaseless  mourning.  That  same  spirit  which 
originated  and  has  refused  atonement  for  this  act 
of  brutal  injustice,  exists  still  with  Great  Britain, 
and  from  France  likewise  we  have  no  reason  to 
expect  any  regard  to  our  rights.  What  has  been 
perpetrated  may  again  be  attempted.  It  is  there- 
fore our  duty  to  be  prepared  and  determined,  at 
every  hazard,  to  vindicate  the  injured  honour  of 
our  navy,  and  revive  the  drooping  spirit  of  the 


92  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY* 

nation.  Influenced  by  these  considerations,  it  is 
expected  that,  while  you  conduct  the  force  under 
your  command  consistently  with  the  principle  of 
a  strict  and  upright  neutrality,  you  are  to  maintain 
at  every  cost  the  dignity  of  our  flag ;  and  that,  of- 
fering yourself  no  unjust  aggression,  you  are  to 
submit  to  none,  not  even  a  menace,  from  a  force 
not  materially  your  superior."  As  a  commentary 
upon  this  letter,  Commodore  Rodgers  added  the 
following:  "Circumstanced  as  we  are  with  the 
two  great  belligerants  of  Europe,  and  particularly 
England,  I  should  consider  the  firing  of  a  shot  by 
a  vessel  of  war  of  either  nation  at  one  of  our  pub- 
lic vessels,  while  the  colours  of  her  nation  are  fly- 
ing on  board  of  her,  as  a  menace  of  the  grossest 
order,  and,  in  amount,  an  insult  which  it  would  be 
disgraceful  not  to  resent,  by  the  firing  of  two  shot 
at  least;  and  that,  under  similar  circumstances, 
should  a  shot  be  fired  at  one  of  our  vessels,  and 
strike  any  part  of  her,  it  ought  to  be  considered 
an  act  of  hostihty,  meriting  chastisement  to  the 
utmost  extent  of  all  your  force."  The  foregoing 
is  chiefly  interesting  now  by  showing  us  the  anx- 
ious preparation  with  which  we  went  into  the  war 
with  England,  and  by  reminding  us,  in  the  contrast 
with  our  present  position,  of  all  that  we  have  gain- 
ed from  it. 

Kindly  entering  into  Perry's  strong  desire  to  be 
employed  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Newport,  the 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       93 

commodore  now  assigned  him  the  extent  of  coast 
between  Montauk  Point  and  the  south  shoal  of 
Nantucket  as  his  cruising  ground,  with  Newport 
for  a  rendezvous ;  and  ordered  him  to  proceed  im- 
mediately to  that  place.  He  lost  no  time  in  obey- 
ing the  order,  and  remained  during  the  autumn 
in  and  about  the  harbour,  occasionally  making  a 
cruise  along  the  coast.  The  log-book  bears  evi- 
dence of  a  Hvely  attention  to  whatever  could  ren- 
der the  vessel  efficient  and  formidable.  The  train- 
ing of  the  crew  of  the  Revenge  was  not  merely 
confined  to  the  customary  exercises  of  the  great 
guns  and  small  arms,  but  frequently,  when  under 
way,  targets  were  thrown  overboard,  at  which  the 
crew  were  exercised  in  firing,  exposed  to  the  same 
swell  of  the  ocean,  the  influence  of  which  they 
would  probably  feel  in  a  real  encounter. 

In  the  month  of  December  Perry  joined  the  com- 
modore at  New-London,  and  soon  after  received  a 
communication  from  him,  stating  that,  as  the  ports 
of  New-London  and  Newport,  together  with  Gar- 
diner's Bay,  possessed  great  advantages,  from  the 
circumstance  that,  at  any  season  of  the  year,  and 
with  the  wind  from  any  quarter  of  the  compass, 
the  dullest  sailing  vessel  could  gain  at  least  one  of 
the  three,  and  thus  obtain  a  convenient  and  safe 
anchorage,  he  considered  it  a  matter  of  much  im- 
portance that  a  correct  survey  of  the  whole  should 
be  made,  including  the  intermediate  navigation, 


94  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

with  the  bearing  of  the  various  headlands,  so  as  to 
form  a  single  sheet  chart  of  the  whole  on  a  large 
scale,  and  therefore  instructed  Perry  forthwith  to 
commence  the  necessary  surveys  for  the  .comple- 
tion of  so  desirable  a  work. 

The  selection  of  Perry  for  this  purpose  was  due 
to  his  high  standing  as  a  seaman  and  an  officer, 
and  his  superior  scientific  attainments.  Pleased 
with  the  duty,  and  flattered  by  its  being  assigned 
to  him,  as  is  apparent  from  his  reply  to  the  order 
of  the  commodore,  he  set  about  the  execution  of 
it  without  loss  of  time,  and  repaired  at  once  to 
Newport,  with  the  survey  of  which  he  had  been 
directed  to  commence  his  operations.  Though  the 
object  of  the  commodore  was  enlightened  and 
laudable,  the  season  of  the  year  which  had  been 
selected  for  this  survey  was  certainly  very  unsuit- 
able. Perry  set  about  it,  however,  with  a  good 
will,  and  with  a  perfect  indifference  to  the  expo- 
sure so  far  as  he  was  himself  concerned.  The 
commodore  had  ordered  him  to  complete  the 
survey  of  Newport,  and  return  to  New-London 
within  a  week.  But  the  weather  was  very  se- 
vere, and  the  boats  were  unavoidably  occupied  in 
communicating  with  the  shore,  and  bringing  off 
water  and  provisions.  At  the  end  of  the  week, 
little  had  been  done  towards  the  survey ;  but  Perry 
determined,  in  compliance  with  his  orders,  to  return 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       95 

<o  New-London,  and  obtain  from  the  commodore 
an  extended  term  to  complete  the  service. 

A  contrary  wind,  attended  by  a  thick  fog,  pre- 
vented him  for  several  days  from  sailing.  At 
length,  on  the  eighth  of  January,  1811,  the  weath- 
er cleared  off,  and  he  sailed  with  a  light  northeast 
wind  from  Newport  at  midnight,  in  order  to  have 
daylight  to  pass  through  the  Race,  as  the  danger- 
ous strait  between  Fisher's  Island  and  Watch  Hill 
is  called.  Mr.  Peter  Daggett,  a  well-known  coast- 
ing and  Sound  pilot,  was  on  board  the  Revenge  in 
the  character  of  acting  sailing-master  and  pilot. 
After  the  schooner  had  been  under  way  about  an 
hour,  it  became  once  more  foggy.  Perry  asked 
Daggett  if  he  could  take  the  schooner  to  New- 
London  in  such  weather.  He  replied,  without  hes- 
itation, that  he  could.  Perry  ordered  an  anchor  to 
be  kept  ready  for  letting  go,  and  told  the  pilot  if 
he  had  any  doubt,  to  come  to  anchor  at  once.  At 
six  in  the  morning  the  Revenge  passed  Point  Ju- 
dith in  fourteen  fathoms.  The  distance  from  thence 
to  Watch  Hill,  the  next  headland,  was  estimated 
by  pilots  and  laid  down  on  the  chart  as  thirty 
miles  on  a  nearly  west  course.  As  the  vessel  was 
only  going  three  knots,  and  the  ordinary  strength 
of  the  flood-tide,  w^hich  was  then  setting,  was  es- 
timated at  two  knots,  it  was  computed  that  at 
least  six  hours'  of  such  saihng  would  be  necessary 
to  bring  the  schooner  up  with  Watch  Hill  Reef, 


96  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

which  makes  out  from  the  headland  of  that  name. 
She  was,  however,  on  account  of  the  fog,  steered 
a  point  off  shore,  or  to  the  south  of  the  usual 
course.  At  nine  o'clock.  Perry  being  below,  heard 
the  leadsmen,  there  being  one  in  each  chains,  give 
ten  fathoms  as  the  cast,  the  previous  casts  having 
been  from  eleven  to  fourteen  fathoms.  He  imme- 
diately went  on  deck  and  ordered  the  helm  to 
starboard ;  he  found  that  it  was  already  to  star- 
board, having  been  put  so  by  order  of  the  pilot. 
The  schooner  came  rapidly  round  until  she  headed 
south  by  west;  but,  as  she  still  shoaled  her  water  to 
five,  three,  and  at  last  to  two  and  a  half  fathoms, 
which  showed  that  she  was  embayed  by  the  reef, 
Perry  ordered  the  anchor  to  be  let  go.  It  was  in- 
stantly let  go,  and,  at  the  same  moment,  her  stern 
struck.  The  anchor  checked  her  bows  round  so 
as  to  enable  her  to  head  out  clear  of  the  reef,  the 
signal  spindle  on  which  was  now  visible,  and  a 
light  breeze  springing  up  at  the  same  moment, 
Perry  ordered  the  sails  to  be  trimmed,  and,  as  the 
schooner  shot  ahead,  gave  the  order  to  cut  the 
cable.  She  ranged  a  short  distance  ahead,  when 
the  wind  faiUng,  and  the  swell  and  flood-tide 
coming  in  strong  at  the  same  moment,  canted  her 
round  bows  on  to  the  reef. 

As  it  was  the  top  of  high  water,  the  chances  of 
saving  the  vessel  were  very  slender.  Neverthe- 
less, the  boats  were  hoisted  out  and  sent  to  sound, 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       97 

and  a  kedge  and  hawser  carried  out  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  deepest  water.  The  hawser  being 
hove  well  taught,  eight  of  the  guns  were  thrown 
overboard,  and  whatever  heavy  articles  could  be 
got  at.  The  water  was  started,  the  pumps  work- 
ed incessantly,  and  hands  employed  at  the  same 
time  in  baling  with  buckets,  for  she  had  begun  to 
leak  badly.  Minute  guns  w^ere  fired  as  signals  of 
distress  to  bring  off  assistance ;  and,  as  the  schoon- 
er laboured  and  thumped  heavily.  Perry  ordered 
the  mainmast  to  be  cut  away,  and  soon  after  the 
foremast  also.  In  twenty  minutes  after  the  schoon- 
er struck,  she  bilged  in  two  places. 

No  hope  now  remaining  of  saving  the  vessel, 
Perry  gave  his  whole  thoughts  to  the  business  of 
sa\'ing  the  crew  intrusted  to  his  care.  The  signal 
guns  had  brought  several,  boats  from  the  shore, 
but  the  swell  rendered  it  difficult  and  dangerous 
to  approach  the  wreck.  Nevertheless,  the  sick 
were  lowered  into  the  boats  by  carefully  watch- 
ing the  swell,  and  after  them  the  marines  and 
boys,  and  sent  on  shore.  During  the  rest  of  the 
day,  the  boats  from  the  shore,  with  those  of  the 
schooner,  were  busily  employed  in  removing  what- 
ever was  of  most  value.  By  sunset  nearly  every- 
thing moveable,  including  the  sails,  rigging,  and 
small  arms,  was  removed.  The  wind  had  now 
come  on  to  blow  violently  on  the  reef,  and  the 
surf  nearly  broke  over  the  vessel,  which  was  fast 
I 


98  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

going  to  pieces ;  the  cold,  moreover,  was  intense. 
Under  these  circumstances,  the  duty  which  Perry 
owed  to  the  officers  and  men  who  had  remained 
toihng  with  him  on  the  wreck  throughout  the  day, 
rendered  it  incumbent  on  him  to  remove  them  to 
a  place  of  safety.  They  were  with  difficulty  ena- 
bled to  reach  the  boats  by  lowering  themselves 
from  ropes  over  the  stern,  and  Perry  was  himself 
the  last  to  leave  the  wreck.  On  reaching  the 
shore,  the  crew  were  mustered  and  distributed  to 
the  various  houses  for  the  night. 

On  the  following  morning,  a  portion  of  the 
wreck,  consisting  of  the  deck  and  bulwarks,  was 
discovered  to  have  floated  off  the  reef.  The 
launches  of  the  President  and  Constitution  frigates 
had  arrived  from  New-London  during  the  night, 
under  the  charge  of  Lieutenants  Ludlow  and  Mor- 
ris, to  render  assistance.  By  the  aid  of  these, 
Perry  went  off  to  the  wreck  and  took  it  in  tow,  in 
order  to  beach  it  on  Fisher's  Island.  While  en- 
gaged in  this  effort,  it  came  on  to  blow  heavily 
from  the  northeast,  attended  with  sleet  and  ex-' 
cessive  cold.  A  smack  hired  by  the  commodore 
had  arrived,  and  assisted  in  towing  the  wreck. 
The  remainder  of  the  schooner's  armament,  con- 
sisting of  six  light  carronades,  was  now  taken  into 
the  launches.  When  nearly  up  with  the  island, 
the  hawser  attached  to  the  wreck  parted,  and  the 
violence  of  the  sea  breaking  over  the  vessel  pre- 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       99 

vented  any  attempt  to  approach  her  to  make  fast 
affain.  The  wreck  was  therefore  abandoned,  and 
the  smack,  with  the  launches  in  tow,  ran  into  New- 
London  to  take  refuge  from  the  storm. 

As  is  usual  in  such  cases,  a  court  of  inquiry  was 
ordered  to  take  into  consideration  the  circumstan- 
ces attending  the  loss  of  the  Revenge,  and  to 
make  a  minute  report  of  all  the  facts,  upon  which 
the  secretary  of  the  navy  could  found  a  judgment 
as  to  the  necessity  of  farther  proceedings.  This 
court,  which  consisted  of  Captain  Hull,  and  Lieu- 
tenants Ludlow  and  Morris,  decided  that  the  fault 
of  getting  the  vessel  on  shore  rested  with  the  pilot 
alone;  that  every  possible  exertion  had  been  made 
by  Lieutenant  Perry,  first  to  get  his  vessel  afloat, 
and  then  to  watch  over  the  preservation  and  wel- 
fare of  the  sick  and  helpless  portion  of  his  crew, 
and  lastly  to  preserve  whatever  was  most  valua- 
ble of  the  vessel's  furniture.  It  was  proved  that 
his  manner  had  been  unchanged  by  the  peril  and 
anxiety  of  his  situation ;  that  his  orders  had  been 
given  in  his  calm  and  ordinary  tone,  and  executed 
with  the  same  cheerfulness  and  order  as  on  com- 
mon occasions,  and  that  the  most  perfect  discipline 
and  subordination  had  been  preserved  throughout 
the  whole  trying  scene.  It  was  only  from  the  evi- 
dence of  others  that  the  fact  was  elicited  that  he 
had  been  himself  the  last  to  leave  the  vessel. 

In  reviewing  these  circumstances,  we  will  find 


100  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

that  Perry  exhibited  in  this  moment  of  disaster  not 
a  few  of  the  quahties  which  were  afterward  dis- 
played on  a  more  brilhant  as  well  as  more  fortu- 
nate field  of  adventure;  the  same  calmness,  the 
same  self-composure,  the  same  indomitable  unwill- 
ingness to  yield  to  the  pressure  of  overpowering 
circumstances,  the  same  humane  sympathy  with 
the  suffering ;  storms,  cold,  which  so  often  benumbs 
the  stoutest  heart,  the  perils  of  rocks  and  waves, 
had  no  power  to  unman  him  or  bend  him  from  his 
duty ;  and  we  find  him,  on  the  morning  after  the 
disaster,  returning  to  the  wreck,  and  clinging  to 
the  few  remaining  planks  of  the  vessel  which  had 
been  intrusted  to  him  with  unyielding  tenacity. 
The  impression  made  upon  the  secretary  of  the 
navy  by  the  evidence  adduced  before  the  court  of 
inquiry  may  be  gathered  from  the  following  letter, 
addressed  by  him  to  Commodore  Rodgers : 

"Having  attentively  examined  the  proceedings 
of  the  court,  I  derive  much  satisfaction  from  per- 
ceiving that  it  is  unnecessary  to  institute  any  far- 
ther proceedings  in  the  case.  With  respect  to 
Lieutenant  Perry,  I  can  only  say,  that  my  confi- 
dence in  him  has  not  been  in  any  degree  dimin- 
ished by  his  conduct  on  the  occasion.  The  loss  of 
the  Revenge  appears  to  be  justly  chargeable  to  the 
pilot.  This  accident  will  no  doubt  present  to  Lieu- 
tenant Perry  considerations  that  may  be  useful  to 
him  in  future  command.    An  officer,  just  to  him- 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  101 

self  and  to  his  country,  will  not  be  depressed  by- 
defeat  or  misfortune,  but  will  be  stimulated  by 
either  cause  to  greater  exertions.  If  there  should 
be  any  situation  in  the  squadron  to  which  you  can 
appoint  Lieutenant  Perry  that  may  be  consistent 
with  his  just  pretensions,  and  not  interfere  with  the 
rights  of  others,  you  will  appoint  him  to  it ;  if  not, 
he  is  to  be  furloughed,  waiting  the  orders  of  this 
department." 

After  returning  to  Newport,  Perry  made  a  visit 
to  Washington.  He  was  kindly  received  by  Mr. 
Paul  Hamilton,  then  secretary  of  the  navy,  who 
had  conceived  a  favourable  opinion  of  him  from 
the  circumstances  attending  his  late  southern  cruise 
in  the  Revenge,  from  his  conduct  during  the  disas- 
ter which  had  deprived  him  of  his  command,  and 
the  approving  testimony  of  his  various  command- 
ers. The  chief  object  of  his  visit  was  to  ascertain 
whether  he  could  remain  undisturbed  for  a  year 
by  any  call  of  duty  which  would  withdraw  him 
from  Newport.  Having  been  reassured  on  this 
subject  by  receiving  a  leave  of  absence  for  that 
term,  he  returned  with  a  light  heart  to  Newport, 
and  on  the  fifth  of  the  following  May  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Mason,  after  an  engagement  of  four 
years.  An  attachment  tested  by  so  long  a  proba- 
tion, and  strengthened  by  every  fresh  observation 
of  each  other's  qualities  of  character  and  of  heart, 
promised  as  fair  a  share  of  wedded  happiness  as 
12 


102  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

ever  falls  to  the  lot  of  mortals.  Until  death  inter- 
posed to  separate  the  devoted  pair,  this  promise 
was  most  amply  redeemed. 

The  wedding  tour  of  the  yomig  couple  consisted 
in  a  journey  of  some  length,  over  various  parts  of 
New-England,  with  which  both  of  them  were  de- 
sirous of  becoming  better  acquainted.  In  the 
course  of  the  tour  they  passed  a  day  at  Plymouth, 
in  which  place  Perry  took  a  particular  interest, 
from  its  having  been  the  residence,  for  a  time,  of 
the  first  of  his  ancestors  who  had  emigrated  to 
America. 


OLIVER    HAZABD    PERRY.  103 


CHAPTER  V. 

State  of  our  relations  with  BelUgerants. — Napoleon 
repeals  his  predatory  Decrees. — Continued  HostiU 
Uy  of  England, —  War  against  our  Commerce,—^ 
Impressment  of  our  Seamen. —  War  with  England, 
•^Perry  applies  for  Sea-service,  —  Appointed  to 
command  Newport  Flotilla. — Zeal  with  which  he 
enters  on  the  service. — His  Discipline.-^Style  of 
Correspondence. — Exercise  of  his  Flotilla, — Cap^ 
ture  of  the  Guerriere. — Lieutenant  Morris  posted, 
— Dissatisfaction  of  the  Service. -^Perry  approves 
of  it. — His  Conduct  towards  Mr.  Morris. — Loss 
of  Lieutenant  Blodgeit. — Renewed  application  for 
Sea-service. — Offers  his  Services  to  Commodore 
Chaunceyfor  the  Lakes. — Capture  of  the  Macedo- 
nian.— Proposed  Increase  of  the  Navy. — Suggests 
the  expediency  of  building  a  Frigate  in  Rhode  Isl- 
and.— Lieutenant  Allen  appointed  to  the  Argus. — 
Perry  remonstrates. — Claims  the  Command. — His 
Delicacy  to  Allen, — Perry  designated  to  command 
on  Lake  Erie, 

Meantime,  no  improvement  had  taken  place  in 
our  relations  with  England.  The  embargo  had 
been  found  so  ruinous  to  our  commerce,  so  difficult 
of  enforcement,  and  so  very  unpopular,  that  it  had 
been  revoked  after  a  duration  of  more  than  a 


104  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

year,  and  a  state  of  non-intercourse  with  France 
and  England  substituted  for  it.  France,  having 
no  commerce  of  her  own,  suffered  greatly  more 
than  England  from  this  suspension  of  trade.  On 
this  account,  and  not  from  any  superior  sense  of 
justice,  Napoleon  was  induced  so  far  to  relax  his 
predatory  spoliations  on  our  commerce  as  to  bring 
himself  within  a  provision  of  the  non-intercourse 
act,  by  which,  in  case  of  the  repeal,  on  the  part  of 
either  of  the  belligerants,  of  their  offensive  meas- 
ures against  our  commerce,  it  was  to  be  suspended. 
England,  under  the  protection  of  her  numerous 
fleets,  being  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  her  customary 
trade,  was  less  sensibly  affected  by  a  non-inter- 
course with  us,  though  still,  even  at  that  time,  for 
her  an  evil  of  no  trifling  magnitude.  She  contin- 
ued to  persevere  in  all  her  offensive  measures  to- 
wards us.  Her  orders  in  council  were  conceived 
not  in  justice  or  any  recognised  usage  of  nations, 
but  simply  in  the  interest  of  her  commercial  jeal- 
ousy. She  destroyed  our  commerce,  not  because 
it  fostered  the  strength  of  her  enemies  and  gave 
them  ability  to  resist,  but  because  it  interfered  with 
the  employment  of  her  own  shipping,  and  the 
gains  of  an  illicit  traffic  which  she  herself  carried 
on  with  them.  As  was  said,  with  no  less  truth 
than  point,  in  the  president's  message  in  June  of 
1812,  "She  carries  on  a  war  against  the  lawful 
commerce  of  a  friend,  that  she  may  tlie  better  car 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       105 

ry  on  a  commerce  with  an  enemy ;  a  commerce 
polluted  by  the  forgeries  and  perjuries  which  are, 
for  the  most  part,  the  only  passports  by  which  it 
can  succeed." 

But  the  most  exasperating  of  her  attacks  upon 
us  was  the  perpetual  violation  of  our  flag  by  her 
cruisers,  not  only  on  the  great  highway  of  nations, 
but  upon  our  own  coasts  and  even  within  our  own 
waters,  for  the  purpose  of  impressing  our  native 
seamen  under  the  plea  of  their  being  Englishmen, 
or  the  insulting  pretext  of  their  having  been  im- 
pressed before.  In  this  way  hundreds  of  Ameri- 
cans were  annually  torn  from  under  the  safeguard 
of  our  national  banner,  compelled  to  serve  on 
board  of  British  ships,  to  lose  their  lives  in  the 
cause  of  their  oppressors,  or  be  made  instrument- 
al in  taking  away  the  lives  of  those  with  whom 
their  country  owned  no  enmity.  And  this  exas- 
perating system  w^as  pursued  in  a  manner  the  most 
haughty  and  insulting.  The  British  navy  had 
been  demoralized  by  the  extensive  system  of  plun- 
der carried  on  under  the  orders  in  council,  and  a 
predatory  and  freebooting  spirit  had  become  a  pre- 
vaihng  characteristic  in  it;  while  the  absence  of  all 
opposition  from  the  w^eak  victims  of  its  injustice 
had  fostered  an  insolent  and  overbearing  demean- 
our. The  outrage  of  impressment  from  on  board 
our  merchant  vessels,  extreme  in  itself,  was  almost 
always  accompanied  by  unmeasured  insult. 


106  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

It  was  a  circumstance  of  this  nature  that  brought 
the  President  frigate  out,  on  the  occasion  when, 
while  in  search  of  the  Guerriere,  she  fell  in  with 
the  Little  Belt  in  the  night,  and  an  accidental  ren- 
counter took  place,  for  which  the  contempt  of 
the  English  and  the  well-grounded  exasperation 
of  the  Americans  mutually  prepared  them.  Brit- 
ish contempt  had,  however,  the  greatest  share  in 
bringing  on  the  contest,  as  the  Little  Belt  was  the 
first  to  fire.  She  was  also,  as  might  have  been 
expected  from  her  vastly  inferior  force,  the  great- 
est sufferer,  though  beyond  all  proportion  with  her 
relative  strength.  This  rencounter  added  new  inr 
tensity  to  the  feeling  of  aversion  existing  between 
the  two  countries ;  and  Great  Britain  showing  no 
disposition  to  do  us  justice  for  her  past  aggressions 
against  the  honour  of  our  flag  and  the  sanctity  of 
the  persons  of  our  citizens,  or  to  discontinue  them 
for  the  future,  we  were  compelled  at  length  to 
adopt  the  only  honourable  alternative  that  remain- 
ed to  us,  that  of  declaring  war.  This  alternative, 
from  which  an  earlier  display  of  spirit  and  devel- 
opment of  our  vast  latent  naval  power  would  have 
saved  us,  was  resorted  to  in  June  of  1812. 

In  expectation  of  this  event,  Perry  had  hastened 
to  Washington  to  endeavour  to  procure  active  em- 
ployment at  sea.  He  was  promised  the  first  vacan- 
cy suited  to  his  rank  that  should  occur,  and,  in  the 
mean  time,  was  ordered  to  take  command  of  four 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  107 

giin"boats  then  laid  up  at  Newport,  together  with 
four  others,  the  construction  of  which  he  had  su- 
perintended at  Norwich  and  Westerly  in  1808  and 
1809,  immediately  previous  to  his  taking  command 
of  the  Revenge.  He  had  now  been  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  master  commandant,  and  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  chief  command  of  the  flotilla  sta- 
tioned at  Newport  for  the  defence  of  the  harbour 
and  adjacent  waters.  He  forthwith  opened  ren- 
dezvous at  Newport  and  at  New-London  for  re- 
cruiting the  petty  officers  and  seamen.  He  was 
ordered  by  the  secretary  of  the  navy  to  designate 
suitable  persons  to  command  the  gunboats,  and 
accordingly  selected  various  officers  of  the  navy 
and  experienced  shipmasters,  who,  on  his  recom- 
mendation, were  duly  appointed,  with  the  rank  of 
acting  sailing-master.  His  connexion  with  the 
officers  and  men  of  the  Newport  flotilla  is  chiefly 
interesting,  as  it  was  continued  on  a  more  impor- 
tant sphere  of  action.  Among  the  persons  em- 
ployed in  this  service  were  midshipman  Daniel 
Turner,  acting  masters  W.  V.  Taylor  and  Ste- 
phen Champlain,  and  purser  Samuel  Hambleton 
— all  names  advantageously  conspicuous  in  the 
battle  of  Lake  Erie.  Lieutenant  S.  G.  Blodgett, 
the  friend  of  his  earlier  professional  years,  was 
also  associated  with  him  in  this  command.  Sub- 
sequently, four  more  gunboats  from  New- York  were 
added  to  the  Newport  flotilla,  making  the  whole 


108  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

force  under  his  command  twelve  gunboats,  manned 
by  about  two  hundred  officers  and  men.  Two  of 
them  were  stationed  off  Stonington,  and  the  re- 
mainder at  and  about  Newport,  to  watch  the  cruis- 
ers of  the  enemy,  and  repel  any  marauding  attack 
on  the  villages  of  the  neighbouring  coasts.  These 
vessels  were  generally  armed  with  a  single  long 
twenty-four  pounder,  and  had  a  complement  of 
thirty  men,  exiclusive  of  the  officers 

The  service  that  could  be  rendered  by  such  a 
force  was  slight,  and  its  purely  defensive  character 
rendered  it  uncongenial  to  the  temper  and  feelings 
of  Perry.  Nevertheless,  he  devoted  himself  to  the 
duties  of  his  station  as  commandant  of  the  flotilla 
with  earnest  zeal,  and  his  official  correspondence 
of  the  time  bears  evidence  of  his  anxious  and  un- 
tiring efforts  for  the  defence  of  the  coast  intrusted 
to  his  vigilance,  and  for  the  annoyance  of  the  ene- 
my. The  tone  of  his  correspondence  is  respectful, 
modest,  and  decided.  What  he  has  to  say  is  al- 
ways expressed  briefly  and  sententiously,  and  there 
is  nowhere  the  slightest  trace  of  that  professional 
jealousy  or  pique  which  is  apt  to  grow  up  between 
officers  of  the  same  or  of  different  arms,  stationed 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  each  other.  In  the  whole 
mass  of  his  letters  to  his  inferiors — and,  as  there 
were  twelve  vessels  under  his  orders,  most  of  them 
generally  at  a  distance,  they  were  sufficiently  nu- 
merous— ^there  is  not  a  single  harsh,  dictatorial,  or 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  109 

wounding  expression;  but  one  contains  an  ap- 
proach towards  reproof.  It  is  expressed  as  fol- 
lows :  "  I  wrote  you  some  days  since  to  repair  to 
this  place,  with  the  boats  under  your  command, 
without  loss  of  time,  and  am  a  little  surprised  to 
find  you  have  not  yet  arrived.  Should  this  find 
you  in  New-London,  you  will  sail  immediately  for 
this,  if  the  weather  will  at  all  permit."  This  ab- 
sence of  reproof  shows  the  absence  of  necessity  for 
it;  a  state  of  discipline  that  prevented  offences 
rather  than  occupied  itself  with  punishing  them. 
It  proves  the  extraordinary  personal  influence  that 
Perry  everywhere  exerted  from  his  earliest  years ; 
something  which  has  been  described  by  those  who 
knew  him  intimately  as  winning  affection  while 
it  repelled  famiharity.  It  also  gives  evidence  of 
that  distinctive  faculty  of  greatness,  intuitive  per- 
ception of  character,  and  unerring  judgment  in 
the  selection  of  agents  to  carry  out  his  views. 
Perry  did  not  make  a  single  bad  appointment. 
Each  person  who  acted  under  him  became  his 
warm  and  devoted  friend,  and  his  friends  proved 
all  true  men.  To  the  various  letters  which  he 
constantly  received  from  the  minor  civil  authorities 
on  the  extended  hne  of  coast  under  his  protection, 
whose  apprehensions  rendered  them  importunate 
and  unreasonable,  and  sometimes  uncivil,  he  re- 
plied with  uniform  calmness,  conciHation,  and  ur- 
banity. 

K 


110  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

The  following  letter,  much  the  longest  to  be 
found  in  his  correspondence,  furnishes  a  fair  spe- 
cimen of  his  style  of  professional  communication. 
It  was  called  forth  by  an  order  of  the  government, 
issued  immediately  after  the  gunboats  were  equip- 
ped and  manned,  and,  as  it  appears  from  Captain 
Perry's  letter,  before  the  crews  had  worked  out 
their  advance,  for  the  discharge  of  all  but  eight 
of  the  twenty-four  men,  exclusive  of  officers  and 
petty  officers,  composing  the  crew  of  each  boat. 
The  motive  of  this  reduction  was  economy,  and  it 
w^as  proposed  to  trust  to  the  chance  of  procuring 
volunteers  to  supply  the  place  of  the  discharged 
seamen.  Captain  Perry's  letter  is  cogent  and  to 
the  point ;  it  shows  completely  the  fallacy  of  trust- 
ing to  such  a  resource.  It  is  dated  at  Newport 
on  the  twenty-seventh  of  July,  and  is  addressed 
to  the  secretary  of  the  navy. 

"  Having  received  an  order  a  few  days  since  ta 
discharge  all  the  crews  of  the  gunboats  under  my 
command,  except  eight  men  to  each,  I  consider  it 
a  duty  to  inform  you  of  the  probable  result  of  that 
order.  From  the  peculiar  situation  of  this  town, 
a  ship  may,  from  the  time  she  is  discovered  in  the 
offing,  be  at  anchor  in  this  harbour  in  less  than  an 
hour  and  a  half.*    The  water  up  the  bay  is  suffi- 

♦  In  order  to  discover  them  even  so  long  as  this  before  their 
possible  arrival,  he  had  constructed  a  watch-tower  on  the  ex- 
tremity of  Rhode  Island,  where  he  kept  a  look-out  party,  which 


OLIVER    HAZ 

cient  for  vessels  of  the  lii^aviest 
towns  of  Providence,  Bristol^  Warren,.  Wickford, 
and  Greenwich  are  without  fortificatrons  of  any- 
kind.  There  are  veiy  few  seamen  in  this  place  at 
present,  most  of  the  ships  belonging  to  it  being 
absent.  It  will  therefore  be  impossible  to  expect 
any  assistance,  or,  if  any,  very  trifling,  on  an  emer- 
gency, from  them.  But,  sir,  if  volunteers  could 
be  procured,  the  enemy  would  give  us  so  little 
time — for  no  doubt  they  would  take  a  favourable 
wind  to  come  in — that  it  would  be  impossible  to 
beat  up  for  them,  get  them  on  board,  and  station 
them  before  probably  the  occasion  for  their  servi- 
ces would  be  entirely  over.  From  the  circumstance 
of  the  gunboats  here  being  for  the  defence  of  so 
many  valuable  towns,  totally  defenceless  in  other 
respects,  and  from  the  singularly  exposed  situation 
of  this  town  to  the  sudden  invasion  of  an  enemy 
I  hope,  sir,  an  exception  may  be  made  in  favour 
of  the  boats  on  this  station,  and  that  they  may  be 
permitted  to  retain  their  full  complement  of  men. 
I  forbear  to  say  anything  of  the  situation  of  an 

communicated  by  signals  the  appearance  of  any  sail  in  the  offing. 
He  had  asked  authority  of  the  navy  department  for  the  con- 
struction of  this  simple  and  cheap  structure  at  the  public  ex- 
pense ;  but,  having  received  no  answer,  the  town  authorities  of 
Newport,  feeling  the  importance  of  such  a  look-out  station,  ap- 
propriated the  trifling  sum  that  was  necessary,  and  it  was  com- 
pleted by  the  mechanics  of  the  flotilla,  and  kept  by  a  small  de- 
tachment from  it. 


112  AMEBIC  AN    BIOGRAPHY. 

officer  who  commands  a  large  nominal  force,  from 
whom  much  is  expected,  and  by  whom  little  can 
be  performed." 

The  foregoing  letter  evinces  a  lively  interest  in 
the  welfare  of  his  native  state,  which  fully  justifies 
the  affection  with  which  its  citizens  cherish  his 
memory.  It  betrays  no  desire  or  willingness  to 
acquiesce  in  an  arrangement  which  would  have 
removed  from  him  in  a  great  measure  the  respon- 
sibihty  which  he  was  under  for  the  protection  of 
the  coasts  intrusted  to  his  defence.  He  wished  to 
be  armed  at  all  points,  and  then  held  responsible 
for  the  result.  The  zeal  with  which  Perry  exe- 
cuted the  duties  of  his  command  is  the  more  com- 
mendable, on  account  of  his  extreme  desire  for 
active  employment  at  sea,  which  had  not  only  led 
him  to  make  repeated  applications  to  the  navy  de- 
partment, but  had  induced  him  in  June,  just  before 
his  appointment  to  the  command  of  the  Newport 
flotilla,  to  make  a  journey  to  Washington,  and  ex- 
ert all  the  influence  he  could  bring  forward  to  pro- 
cure him  the  command  of  a  sloop-of-war.  His 
own  earnest  solicitation  and  that  of  his  friends 
were,  however,  powerless  to  procure  him  his  cov- 
eted opportunity  for  distinction.  He  returned  to 
his  uncongenial  command,  and  devoted  himself  to 
it  faithfully.  In  the  training  of  his  crew  to  the 
exercise  of  great  guns  and  small  arms,  with  the 
use  of  the  cutlass  and  pike,  he  personally  took  un- 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  113 

wearied  pains,  as  well  as  in  drilling  them  in  the 
necessary  manceuvres  to  enable  them  to  act  with 
effect  on  shore.  Occasionally  he  assembled  his 
gunboats  together,  and  carried  them  through  the 
various  evolutions  in  the  management  of  fleets, 
and,  often  dividing  them  into  adverse  squadrons, 
one  under  his  own  orders,  the  other  under  Lieu- 
tenant Blodgett's,  would  carry  on  a  mimic  engage- 
ment. This  was  not  the  kind  of  engagement  for 
which  he  was  at  that  time  sighing,  but  it  was  not, 
perhaps,  a  useless  preparation  for  one ;  and  it  is  not 
unlikely  that  he  may  thus  have  acquired  a  facility 
in  manoeuvring  a  number  of  vessels,  or  formed 
some  conceptions  of  advantages  to  be  gained  and 
critical  moments  to  be  seized  on  in  the  encounter 
of  ^eets  that  were  afterward  useful  to  him. 

When,  soon  after  the  war  began,  the  Constitu- 
tion captured  the  Guerriere,  after  a  short  and  brill- 
iant action,  and  the  country  blazed  with  enthusi- 
asm from  one  extremity  to  the  other.  Perry  was 
more  taken  up  with  sharing  this  enthusiasm  than 
overcome  by  chagrin  at  his  own  present  exclusion 
from  any  chance  of  participating  in  the  glory  of 
the  victors,  and  the  acclamation  with  which  they 
were  everywhere  received. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Lieutenant  Charles 

Morris  was  promoted  after  the  action  two  grades, 

for  having  well  performed  his  subordinate  duties 

of  first  lieutenant  of  the  Constitution.     It  would 

K2 


114  AMERICAN.    BIOGRAPHY. 

have  been  a  proper,  suitable,  and  customary  re- 
ward for  his  good  conduct  if  he  had  been  made 
a  master  commandant,  to  date  from  the  day  of  the 
victory.  But  it  was  a  manifest  violation  of  pro- 
priety, and  of  all  that  was  due  to  the  rights  and 
feelings  of  the  whole  grade  of  masters  command- 
ant, thus  to  promote  over  their  heads  a  heutenant 
who  had  done  his  duty  faithfully  in  a  purely  sub- 
ordinate character.  The  greatest  injustice,  how- 
ever, which  it  involved  was  to  the  veteran  com- 
mander of  the  Constitution,  under  whose  orders 
the  victory  had  been  won  j  himself  a  practised 
seaman  and  thorough  officer,  and  who  has  ever 
been  eminently  the  captain  of  his  own  ship. 
There  was  no  promotion  for  the  chief  in  com- 
mand, and  the  liberality  of  the  country  was  not 
equal  to  creating  a  new  grade  in  order  to  promote 
him,  when  that  new  grade  was  otherwise  neces- 
sary to  the  prosperity  of  the  service.  Instead  of 
promoting  him,  the  absence  of  promotion  was 
made  more  sensible  by  raising  his  subordinate  du- 
ring the  action  two  grades,  and  making  him,  by  a 
single  stroke  of  the  pen,  his  equal. 

Perry  was  one  of  the  commanders  over  whose 
heads  Lieutenant  Morris  was  thus  summarily  pro- 
moted. He  took  a  diflferent  view  of  this  act  from 
all  others  of  his  grade.  The  chivalrous  magna- 
nimity of  his  feelings  on  this  occasion  not  only  led 
him  to  acquiesce  in  Lieutenant  Morris's  promotion. 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  115 

but  even  to  take  a  pointed  means  of  showing  it. 
Mr.  Morris  had  reached  Providence,  where  he  was 
lying  ill  of  a  dangerous  wound  he  had  received 
during  the  action,  when  Perry  first  heard  that  he 
"was  to  be  promoted  at  once  to  a  post-captaincy. 
He  told  his  intimate  friend,  Mr.  William  S.  Rogers, 
subsequently  a  purser  in  the  navy,  and  from  whom 
the  anecdote  is  derived,  that  this  contemplated 
promotion  had  occasioned  much  dissatisfaction 
among  the  commanders  and  lieutenants  above 
Morris.  This  feeling  Perry  said  he  did  not  share, 
and  proposed  to  make  a  visit  to  Providence  in  one 
of  the  gunboats  under  his  command,  in  order  to 
express  to  Morris  his  own  views  on  the  subject. 
Perry  went  accordingly,  and  Mr.  Rogers  accom- 
panied him,  and  was  present  at  the  interview, 
which  he  represents  as  having  been  singularly 
interesting.  After  inquiring  with  much  solicitude 
concerning  Mr.  Morris's  health,  he  cordially  con- 
gratulated him  on  the  brilHant  result  of  his  cruise, 
and  told  him  that  his  contemplated  promotion  to 
a  post-captaincy  met  with  his  hearty  approbation. 
He  hoped  that  the  same  reward  might  attend  any 
future  display  of  gallant  conduct ;  a  hope  the  more 
generous  and  disinterested,  that  his  own  more  ad- 
vanced rank  would  not  allow  him,  in  case  of  like 
good  fortune,  to  be  so  largely  benefited.  The  un- 
assuming and  modest  deportment  of  Mr.  Morris, 
who  was  sensibly  struck  with  this  generous  effort 


116  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

to  relieve  him  from  the  painful  feelings  which  the 
opposition  of  those  he  was  about  to  supersede  had 
evidently  occasioned  him  in  his  debilitated  state 
of  health,  and  the  frank  and  chivalrous  bearing 
of  Perry,  which  had  in  it  a  consciousness  that  he 
too  would  one  day  deserve  the  gratitude  of  his 
country  if  the  opportunity  were  but  given  to  him, 
rendered  the  whole  scene  most  striking  and  im- 
pressive. Nor  did  Perry's  generous  feelings  to- 
wards Mr.  Morris  end  here.  When  he  was  sub- 
sequently promoted  to  a  captaincy  and  appointed 
to  the  Adams,  a  noble  corvette  with  twenty-eight 
guns  on  one  deck,  thus  rewarded  for  his  past  ser- 
vices and  placed  in  a  situation  to  win  more  glory, 
Perry,  who  was  ineffectually  seeking  for  the  com- 
mand of  a  sea-going  vessel  of  half  that  force,  in- 
stead of  giving  way  to  any  envious  or  ill-natured 
feelings  towards  him,  took  pleasure  in  rendering 
him  every  facility  in  procuring  a  crew,  allowed 
the  best  of  his  own  men  to  volunteer  for  the 
Adams,  in  order  to  go  where  they  could  be  more 
useful,  sent  Mr.  Daniel  Turner  to  Providence  to 
recruit  men  for  her,  and  subsequently  parted  with 
that  favourite  officer,  in  order  that  he  might  place 
himself  in  the  path  to  distinction.  Having  induced 
Captain  Morris  to  receive  Mr.  Turner  on  board 
his  ship,  he  sent  him  off  with  a  draught  of  effi- 
cient seamen,  without  waiting  for  the  orders  which 
Captain  Morris  had  told  him  would  be  speedily 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  117 

forwarded.  Every  officer  in  the  navy  will  appre- 
ciate the  generous  s  df-denial  of  Perry's  conduct ; 
it  is  as  rare  in  the  service,  and  as  difficult  to  imitate 
as  it  is  every  way  worthy  of  admiration.  The 
reader  will  not  fail  to  contrast  it,  in  the  sequel, 
with  the  conduct  which,  under  like  circumstances, 
was  observed  towards  Perry. 

A  most  distressing  circumstance  attended  Per- 
ry's service  in  command  of  the  flotilla  at  New- 
port, in  the  loss  of  his  excellent  and  warmly-at- 
tached friend  and  shipmate.  Lieutenant  Blodgett. 
He  had  got  under  way  at  noon  on  the  twenty- 
ninth  of  October,  in  gunboat  number  forty-six,  to 
look  round  outside  of  the  harbour.  The  wind  was 
light  from  northeast  w^hen  he  started,  but  it  came 
on  to  blow  heavily  when  he  had  reached  the  open 
ocean  off  the  mouth  of  the  harbour.  He  imme- 
diately hauled  his  wind,  and  commenced  working 
back  for  the  mouth  of  the  harbour.  The  swell 
setting  heavily  along  the  shore,  and  the  tide  run- 
ning ebb,  the  schooner,  which,  like  most  of  the 
gunboats,  was  dull  and  sluggish,  worked  slowly 
to  windward.  Still  Blodgett  did  not  like  to  bear 
up  and  run  into  the  Sound,  which  was  his  only 
alternative.  He  continued  to  beat  to  windward, 
standing  close  in  to  the  shore  to  avoid  the  tide  and 
prolong  the  benefit  of  the  long  tack.  In  attempt- 
ing to  tack  off  the  hghthouse  on  the  south  point 
of  the  island  of  Connanicut,  the  schooner  missed 


118  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

stays ;  a  second  attempt  was  made  to  tack  her, 
■which  equally  failed ;  and  a  last  effort  was  made 
to  veer  her,  in  the  hope  that,  though  very  close  in, 
she  might  still  clear  the  rocks.  The  schooner 
paid  oft'  a  little,  when  the  undertow  neutralizing 
the  effect  of  the  helm,  she  went  broadside  to 
against  the  rocks.  The  sea  now  made  a  complete 
breach  over  the  vessel.  Blodgett  at  once  saw  that 
there  was  not  the  slightest  hope  of  saving  the  ves- 
sel, and  far  from  a  certainty  of  saving  the  lives 
of  the  crew,  for  the  night  had  just  set  in,  and  the 
weather  was  cold.  It  would  depend  entirely  on 
the  personal  exertion  of  each  to  get  ashore  before 
the  vessel  should  go  to  pieces,  and  he  accordingly 
gave  the  order  for  each  man  to  provide  for  his 
own  safety,  being  determined  not  to  leave  the  ves- 
sel himself  until  every  man  should  gain  the  shore ; 
in  short,  not  to  be  saved  himself  if  one  of  his 
crew  were  lost.  He  was  soon  after  washed  over- 
board, and  his  body  was  never  recovered ;  nine 
others,  out  of  eighteen  composing  the  crew,  shared 
the  fate  of  their  commander.  Perry  briefly  but 
feelingly  narrated  the  circumstances  to  the  secre- 
tary of  the  navy,  and  by  the  same  mail  communi- 
cated the  mournful  intelligence  to  Blodgett's  fa- 
ther, expressing,  in  doing  so,  a  melancholy  satisfac- 
tion in  being  able  to  assure  him  that  his  son,  in 
the  last  trying  scene  of  his  life,  had  acted  with  a 
firmness  and  decision  most  honourable  to  his  mem- 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  119 

ory.  In  Blodgett  Perry  lost  an  old,  a  sincere,  and 
a  warmly-attached  friend,  as  well  as  a  most  use- 
ful assistant.  Had  he  lived,  he  would  doubtless 
have  accompanied  him  to  Lake  Erie  as  his  second 
in  command,  and  shared  the  glory  of  a  victory 
which  the  presence  of  an  attached,  courageous, 
and  true-hearted  coadjutor  would  have  rendered 
of  so  much  easier  achievement. 

Towards  the  close  of  November  Perry  made 
another  effort  to  procure  service  which  would 
bring  him  in  contact  with  the  enemy,  by  using  the 
personal  solicitation  at  Washington  of  his  intimate 
friend,  Mr.  W.  S.  Rogers,  who  went  there  for  the 
purpose  of  settling  Perry's  accounts  during  the 
past  five  years.  He  at  the  same  time  addressed  a 
letter  to  the  secretary,  which  is  interesting  as  show- 
ing his  desire  for  active  employment  anywhere, 
and  having  probably  led  to  his  being  ordered  to 
the  Lakes.  It  ran  as  follows :  "  I  have  instructed 
my  friend,  Mr.  W.  S.  Rogers,  to  wait  on  you  w^ith 
a  tender  of  my  services  for  the  Lakes.  There  are 
fifty  or  sixty  men  under  my  command  that  are  re- 
markably active  and  strong,  capable  of  perform- 
ing any  service.  In  the  hope  that  I  should  have 
the  honour  of  commanding  them  whenever  they 
should  meet  the  enemy,  I  have  taken  unwearied 
pains  in  preparing  them  for  such  an  event.  I  beg 
therefore,  sir,  that  we  may  be  employed  in  some 
way  in  which  we  can  be  serviceable  to  our  coun- 


120  AMEKICAN    BIOGRAPHY* 

try."  He  at  the  same  time  made  an  offer  of  his 
services  to  Commodore  I.  Chauncey,  who  had  re- 
cently been  appointed  to  command  on  the  Lakes. 

In  the  course  of  Mr.  Rogers's  interview  with  the 
secretary,  some  conversation  occurred  about  em- 
ploying Captain  Perry  on  Lake  Erie,  to  build  and 
organize  a  squadron,  to  meet  one  which  the  enemy 
were  about  preparing  on  that  lake.  Nothing  def- 
inite, however,  was  decided;  and,  in  a  week  after 
Perry's  letter  was  written,  the  British  frigate  Ma- 
cedonian arrived  as  a  prize  to  the  frigate  United 
States,  and  in  charge  of  his  old  shipmate  and 
friend,  Lieutenant  WilUam  H.  Allen.  He  received 
him  also  with  cordial  congratulations,  lent  him 
every  assistance  in  providing  for  the  comfort  of 
the  wounded,  and  furnished  him  with  thirty  men 
to  assist  in  navigating  the  ship  to  New-York.  In 
announcing  her  arrival  at  his  station,  he  expressed 
to  the  secretary  his  opinion  that  she  was  one  of 
the  finest  frigates  he  had  ever  seen.  He  had  no 
disposition  to  disparage  the  victories  of  others, 
though  it  caused  him  infinite  grief  that  he  was  de- 
nied the  opportunity  of  sharing  them. 

Soon  after  it  was  decided  to  increase  the  navy 
by  four  Hne-of-battle  ships,  six  large  frigates,  and 
six  sloops.  He  thought  that  commands  of  a  high- 
er class  being  thus  provided  for  those  of  his  own 
grade  that  were  above  him,  some  of  the  sloops 
would  be  left  vacant.    He  had  been  so  often  dis- 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  121 

appointed,  however,  that  he  was  not  very  san- 
guine ;  and,  in  writing  to  Captain  Morris  to  an- 
nounce that  he  had  sent  him  some  men,  and  to 
describe  the  character  of  one  petty  officer  whom 
he  had  sent,  whom  he  thought  would  make  a  good 
gunner,  he  says  to  him,  "Does  the  government 
intend  building  the  ships  immediately,  or  will  it 
wait  until  timber  seasons  ?  I  despair  of  getting  to 
sea  very  shortly,  unless  I  should  be  fortunate 
enough  to  get  the  Hornet." 

In  order  to  nourish  the  faint  chance  of  employ- 
ment at  sea  which  grew  out  of  this  contemplated 
advancement  of  his  seniors,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
to  benefit  his  native  state,  to  whose  interests  and 
welfare  he  was  ever  watchfully  attentive,  he  now 
devoted  himself  to  the  task  of  obtaining  accurate 
information  as  to  the  ship-building  capabilities  of 
his  state.  The  result  of  his  inquiries  he  reduced 
to  a  tabular  form,  stating  in  separate  columns  the 
quantity  of  suitable  ship-timber,  mines  of  iron  ore, 
number  of  smelting  forges  and  trip-hammers,  and 
of  ship-carpenters,  joiners,  rope  and  sail  makers, 
and  all  the  various  descriptions  of  artisans  em- 
ployed in  the  construction  and  equipment  of  ships. 
He  also  mentioned  the  fact  that  there  was  a  suffi- 
ciency of  seasoned  timber  to  construct  a  frigate, 
and  that  the  mechanics,  being  unemployed,  would 
work  at  low  wages. 

In  January  of  1813  he  received  a  serious  annoy- 
L 


122  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

ance  in  learning  the  appointment  of  Lieutenant 
Allen,  who  had  recently  arrived  in  charge  of  the 
Macedonian,  to  the  command  of  the  brig  Argus  of 
twenty  guns.  This  vessel  had  recently  been  com- 
manded by  master-commandant  Arthur  Sinclair, 
who,  on  the  termination  of  his  cruise,  had  relin- 
quished the  command  of  her.  Commodore  Deca- 
tur, who  was  senior  officer  afloat  in  New- York 
when  the  Argus  arrived,  placed  Lieutenant  Allen 
on  board  of  her  when  Captain  Sinclair  left  her, 
in  the  hope  that  he  would  subsequently  be  pro- 
moted and  confirmed  in  the  command,  which,  in 
fact,  proved  to  be  the  case.  This  infringement 
of  his  just  rights,  and  violation  of  the  solemn 
promise  made  to  him  at  the  commencement  of  the 
war  by  the  then  secretary  of  the  navy,  and  which 
was  equally  binding  on  the  gentleman  who  had 
recently  succeeded  him.  Perry  felt  most  sensibly, 
as  is  apparent  from  the  following  letter  to  the  new 
secretary  of  the  navy,  Mr.  WilHam  Jones.  It  is 
dated  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  January,  1813. 

"  I  am  informed  by  Lieutenant  Allen  that  he 
has  charge  of  the  U.  S.  brig  Argus,  by  order  of 
Commodore  Decatur.  Although  1  have  the  high- 
est opinion  of  Mr.  Allen  as  an  officer,  and  the 
warmest  regard  for  him  as  a  friend,  yet  justice  to 
myself  demands  that  I  should  solicit  this  vessel, 
provided  Captain  Sinclair  is  not  to  resume  the 
command  of  her.    On  the  first  prospect  of  a  dec- 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  123 

hiration  of  war,  I  hastened  to  Washington  in  the 
hope  of  obtaining  active  employment ;  but,  unfor- 
tunately, there  was  no  vacancy.  The  honourable 
secretary  of  the  navy,  however,  promised  me  the 
first  one  that  should  occur  suitable  to  my  rank ; 
none  has  occurred  until  the  present.  I  therefore 
hope,  sir,  I  may  be  gratified  in  being  appointed  to 
the  Argus,  as  it  is  my  earnest  wish  to  have  an  op- 
portunity of  showing  my  devotion  to  the  cause  of 
my  country.  Mr.  Allen  has  already  had  an  op- 
portunity of  evincing  his  gallantry  and  good  con- 
duct, and  is  in  possession  of  the  admiration  and 
respect  of  his  countrymen." 

On  the  same  day  he  wrote  to  Captain  Sinclair, 
stating  the  application  he  had  made  for  the  Argus, 
in  the  event  only  of  Captain  Sinclair's  having  en- 
tirely relinquished  the  command,  as,  in  the  contra- 
ry case,  he  had  no  wish  whatever  to  interfere,  but 
considered  himself  as  standing  next  for  the  com- 
mand. He  wrote  also  to  Mr.  J.  B.  Howell,  then 
a  senator  in  Congress  from  Rhode  Island,  to  ex- 
plain the  injustice  which  would  be  done  to  him  by 
the  appointment  of  his  junior  to  the  command  of 
the  Argus,  and  to  procure  his  influence  in  aid  of 
his  claim.  "  Possessing,"  as  he  tells  this  gentle- 
man, "  an  ardent  desire  to  meet  the  enemies  of  my 
country,  I  have  earnestly  solicited  this  situation, 
and  beg  you  will  back  my  application  to  be  em- 
ployed in  a  manner  more  congenial  to  my  feel- 


124  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

ings."  His  letter  indicates  an  apprehension  that 
some  lingering  distrust  of  him  existed  at  the  de- 
partment with  regard  to  the  loss  of  the  Revenge ; 
for  he  forwarded  a  copy  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
court  of  inquiry  on  the  subject  to  Mr.  Howel,  with 
the  expression  of  a  hope  that  its  perusal  would 
satisfy  him  that  no  blame  could  attach  to  him  from 
that  unfortunate  disaster.  It  gives  pain  thus  to 
see  Perry  stooping  to  the  o^ce  of  self-vindication. 
To  his  friend  Allen  he  frankly  stated  all  that  he 
had  done,  and  forwarded  to  him  a  copy  of  his  let- 
ter to  the  secretary  on  the  same  day  that  it  was 
written.  It  is  impossible  to  do  otherwise  than 
admire  the  noble  magnanimity  of  his  conduct 
throughout  this  transaction.  His  "ardent  desire 
to  meet  the  enemies  of  his  country"  does  not  al- 
low him  for  a  moment  to  forget  or  disregard  what 
was  due  to  his  brother  officers ;  the  injustice  which 
was  about  to  be  done  to  himself  quickens  his 
sense  of  the  dehcacy  that  was  due  to  others. 

He  had  also  indulged  the  hope  of  obtaining  the 
command  of  the  Hornet,  in  expectation  of  the  prob- 
able promotion  of  Captain  Lawrence,  her  com- 
mander ;  but,  shortly  before  her  return  from  her 
successful  cruise,  during  which  she  had  captured 
the  Peacock,  the  means  of  distinction  had  already 
been  provided  for  Perry.  On  the  first  of  Febru- 
ary, 1813,  he  received  a  letter  from  Commodore 
Chauncey,  to  whom,  in  the  previous  December,  he 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  125 

had  made  a  tender  of  his  services,  stating  that  he 
had  applied  to  the  secretary  of  the  navy  to  have 
him  ordered  to  the  Lakes.  The  commodore  took 
occasion  to  pay  Perry  the  following  comphment, 
which  plainly  indicates  that  his  character  was  al- 
ready recognised  in  the  service,  and  understood  hy 
the  commodore.  "  You  are  the  very  person,"  he 
writes,  "  that  I  want  for  a  particular  service,  in 
which  you  may  gain  reputation  for  yourself  and 
honour  for  your  country."  This  particular  service 
was  the  command  of  a  naval  force  to  be  created 
on  Lake  Erie.  In  a  few  days  he  was  advised  by 
his  friend  Rogers  that  the  new  secretary  of  the 
navy,  Mr.  Jones,  had  readily  consented  to  Com- 
modore Chauncey's  request,  and  decided  to  order 
him  to  Lake  Erie,  with  a  detachment  of  tlie  best 
men  under  his  command  at  Newport.  He  was  to 
build  two  heavy  brigs  on  the  lake  to  meet  the  force 
prepared  by  the  enemy.  "  You  will  doubtless," 
wrote  Mr.  Rogers,  "  command  in  chief.  This  is 
the  situation  Mr.  Hamilton  mentioned  to  me  two 
months  past,  and  which,  I  think,  will  suit  you  ex- 
actly ;  you  may  expect  some  warm  fighting,  and, 
of  course,  a  portion  of  honour." 
L2 


126  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 


CHAPTER  VL 

Ferry  ordered  to  the  Lakes. — Sends  off  Crews  of 
Flotilla. —  Visits  his  Parents. — Goes  to  Albany. — 
Joins  Commodore  Chauncey. — Proceeds  to  Sack- 
ett^s  Harbour. — Rumoured  attack  from  the  Enemy, 
— Ferry  detained  on  Lake  Ontario. — Ordered  to 
Erie. — His  Journey. — Rumour  of  an  Attack  on 
Erie. — Arrival  at  that  Place. — Condition  of  the 
Squadron. — Difficulties  of  Equipment. — Perry  vis- 
its  Pittsburgh. — Returns  to  Erie.  — Visits  Niag- 
ara. — Storming  of  Fort  George. — Perry^s  Account 
of  it. — Perry  ordered  to  Black  Rock. — Flotilla 
manned  by  Soldiers. — Labour  of  ascending  Rapids, 
— Arrival  at  Buffalo. — Passing  the  British  Squadm 
ron. — Arrival  at  Erie. — Preparation  of  the  Squad- 
ron.— Want  of  Men. — Ordered  to  co-operate  zaith 
General  Harrison. —  Urgent  Letters  from  Govern- 
ment and  the  General. — Letter  of  entreaty  to  the 
Commodore  for  Men. — Invites  him  to  assume  the 
Command  on  Erie. — Contemplated  Attack  of  the 
Enemy  on  Erie.^-Perry  receives  small  Re-enforce, 
ments. — Determines  to  sail  in  pursuit  of  the  Enemy, 

On  the  seventeenth  of  February  Captain  Perry 
received  orders  from  the  secretary  of  the  navy  to 
proceed  to  Sackett's  Harbour  with  all  the  best  men 
under  his  command  in  the  flotilla.     At  that  place 


OLIVEE  HAZARD  PERRY.      127 

he  was  to  receive  farther  instructions  from  Com- 
modore Chauncey  with  regard  to  his  future  pro- 
ceedings in  command  of  the  force  to  be  created  on 
Lake  Erie.  So  prompt  was  he  to  execute  these 
orders,  and  reach  the  scene  where  his  friend  had 
held  out  to  him  the  prospect  of  hard  fighting  and 
an  attendant  harvest  of  honour,  and  so  ready  was 
the  force  under  his  command  to  move  in  any  di- 
rection, that  he  sent  off  on  that  very  day,  notwith- 
standing the  inclement  season  of  the  year,  a  de- 
tachment of  fifty  men  and  officers,  under  the  com- 
mand of  sailing-master  Almy.  They  were  to  pro- 
ceed to  Albany  by  the  way  of  Providence.  On 
the  nineteenth  he  despatched  fifty  men,  under  sail- 
ing-master Champlin,  and  the  remaining  fifty  on 
the  twenty-first,  under  sailing-master  W.  V.  Tay- 
lor. His  object  in  thus  dividing  them  was  to  in- 
crease the  facility  of  procuring  conveyances  for 
the  men  and  accommodation  on  the  road. 

On  the  morning  of  the  twenty-second  of  Febru- 
ary, a  day  of  happy  omen  for  the  commencement 
of  an  American  enterprise.  Captain  Perry  deliv- 
ered up  the  command  of  the  flotilla  to  the  officer 
next  in  rank,  and  set  forward  on  his  journey  to 
Sackett's  Harbour.  At  that  season  of  the  year, 
and  at  that  period  in  the  settlement  of  the  interior 
of  our  country,  this  was  a  journey  of  no  little  hard- 
ship and  fatigue.  He  crossed  the  ferry  to  Narra- 
gansett  in  his  boat  during  a  violent  rain  storm, 


128  AMERICAN     BIOGRAPHY. 

and  immediately  proceeded  to  Pawcatuck,  and 
thence  to  New-London  and  Lebanon ;  his  object 
in  following  this  route  being  to  visit  his  parents, 
who  resided  at  the  latter  place,  before  his  depart- 
ure on  so  perilous  a  service,  and  from  which  his 
return  was  so  imcertain.  After  passing  a  few 
hours  with  his  family,  he  departed  for  Hartford  in 
the  evening  in  an  open  sleigh,  taking  with  him 
his  brother  Alexander,  then  a  lad  of  less  than 
twelve  years.  The  cold  was  intense,  and  they 
suffered  severely  before  their  arrival  at  Hartford, 
which  they  only  reached  at  midnight.  There 
Captain  Perry  got  on  the  mail-route  to  Albany, 
and  made  the  rest  of- the  journey  in  a  somewhat 
more  comfortable  manner. 

Commodore  Chauncey  had  come  from  Lake  On- 
tario to  New-York  during  the  winter,  and  had 
written  to  Captain  Perry  from  that  place  to  direct 
him  to  repair  forthwith  to  Sackett's  Harbour,  where 
he  was  urgently  desirous  of  seeing  him.  As  the 
commodore  had  not  yet  arrived  at  Albany,  Cap- 
tain Perry  determined  to  wait  for  him  there,  in 
order  to  be  sooner  made  acquainted  with  his  wish- 
es. At  the  end  of  three  days  the  commodore  ar- 
rived at  Albany.  In  the  afternoon  of  the  same 
day,  being  the  twenty-eighth  of  February,  Cap^ 
tain  Perry  set  out  for  Sackett's  Harbour,  by  direc- 
tion of  the  commodore,  who  started  at  the  same 
time,  and  arrived  there  on  the  evening  of  the  third 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  129 

of  March.  The  same  night  the  alarm  gun  was 
fired  to  announce  an  attack.  Captain  Perry  has- 
tened on  board  the  Madison,  where  he  found  the 
crew  at  their  quarters,  and  everything  in  good 
order.  The  commodore,  who  had  also  arrived 
during  the  night,  made  his  appearance  soon  after. 
The  alarm  had  been  occasioned  by  a  sentinel's 
firing  at  a  person  who  attempted  to  pass  his  post. 

It  had  been  rumoured  that  an  attack  would  be 
made  on  Sackett's  Harbour,  in  order  to  destroy  the 
squadron  and  the  vessels  on  the  stocks,  so  as  to 
give  the  British  the  command  of  the  lake  during 
the  approaching  campaign.  On  this  account  Com- 
modore Chauncey  detained  Captain  Perry  with 
him  until  the  sixteenth  of  March,  notwithstanding 
his  extreme  desire  to  be  at  his  post  superintending 
the  construction  of  his  squadron.  After  having 
once  or  twice  suggested  the  propriety  of  his  pro- 
ceeding to  his  destination,  the  commodore  at  length 
told  him  that  it  was  possible  an  attack  might  be 
made  on  the  vessels  in  the  harbour,  in  which  case 
the  commodore  said  he  would  like  to  have  his  as- 
sistance, and  presumed  he.  Perry,  would  also  wish 
to  be  there.     This,  Perry  said,  was  conclusive. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  March,  however,  he  receiv- 
ed orders  to  proceed  to  Erie,  and  hasten  the  equip- 
ment of  the  squadron  then  in  process  of  construc- 
tion there.  On  the  twenty-fourth  he  arrived  at 
Buffalo,  and,  after  having  passed  a  day  in  exam- 


130  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

ining  the  navy-yard  at  Black  Rock,  then  under  the 
command  of  Lieutenant  Pettigru,  and  made  ar- 
rangements for  having  stores  forwarded  to  Erie, 
he  set  out  on  the  twenty-sixth  in  a  sleigh,  on  the 
ice,  for  Erie.  At  Cattaraugus,  where  he  passed  the 
night,  he  learned  from  the  keeper  of  the  hotel  in 
which  he  lodged  that  he  had  recently  been  on  the 
Canada  shore,  where  particular  inquiries  had  been 
made  as  to  the  vessels  to  be  constructed  at  Erie, 
and  the  force  stationed  there  for  their  protection. 
The  innkeeper  inferred  that  an  attempt  would  be 
made  by  the  British  to  destroy  the  vessels  when 
the  ice  should  break  up. 

In  the  evening  of  the  twenty-seventh  Perry 
reached  Erie,  and  immediately  called  around  him 
the  persons  engaged  in  building  and  equipping  the 
squadron.  These  were  Mr.  Noah  Brown,  of  New- 
York,  the  master  shipwright,  and  sailing-master 
Dobbins,  who  superintended  the  construction  by 
direction  of  Commodore  Chauncey.*    He  found 

*  Mr.  Noah  Brown,  the  venerable  builder  of  our  fleet  on 
Erie,  after  having  contributed,  by  the  construction  of  these  and 
many  other  vessels  of  war,  to  the  renown  of  our  navy,  and 
amassed,  in  the  course  of  long  years  of  prosperous  industry,  a 
handsome  fortune,  finds  himself  again,  by  the  reverses  so  com- 
mon in  our  country,  sent  back,  in  his  old  age,  to  the  starting- 
place  from  which  he  set  out,  and  may  now  be  seen  working  as 
a  journeyman  in  our  ship-yards,  with  a  manly  cheerfulness  and 
proud  independence  of  disposition  which  places  him  above  and 
beyond  the  reach  of  misfortune.    More  respected  by  the  world 


OLIVER     HAZARD     PERRY.  131 

that  the  keels  of  the  two  twenty-gun  brigs  were 
laid,  and  that  two  gunboats  were  nearly  planked ; 
a  third  was  ready  also  for  planking.  Captain  Per- 
ry learned,  equally  to  his  astonishment  and  regret, 
that  no  arrangements  had  been  made  for  bringing 
up  such  of  the  guns  for  the  vessels  as  were  to 
come  from  Buffalo  and  Black  Rock,  and  that  no 
orders  on  the  subject  had  been  received  from  the 
commodore.  This  was  the  more  to  be  lamented, 
as  the  ice  was  already  so  weak  as  to  render  it  im- 
possible to  bring  them  up  on  it,  and  the  roads 
were  impassable  for  heavy  cannon.  No  prepara- 
tion whatever  had  been  made  for  the  defence  of 
these  vessels  had  they  been  attacked ;  there  was 
not  a  single  musket  or  cartridge  in  the  possession 
of  the  officer  who  had  been  in  charge,  or,  in  fact, 
in  the  village ;  and  nothing  would  have  been  eas- 
ier, nor,  as  it  afterward  proved,  better  worth  atten- 
tion, than  for  the  enemy  to  have  destroyed  the 
vessels.  A  party  of  fifty  carpenters,  which  had 
been  sent  on  from  Philadelphia,  had  not  yet  ar- 
rived, though  they  had  been  four  weeks  on  their 
journey.  The  twenty-five  who  came  on  with  Mr. 
Brown  had  made  the  journey  in  a  fortnight.  Cap- 
tain Perry  provided  that  very  night  for  the  most 

he  might  have  been  in  his  days  of  prosperity,  but  never  more 
respectable  than  now.  To  this  venerable  man  the  writer  is  in- 
debted for  interesting  details  as  to  the  construction  of  the  squad- 
ron on  Erie. 


132  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

urgent  of  these  wants,  by  hiring  a  guard  of  citi- 
zens to  protect  the  vessels,  which  he  organized  and 
set  on  watch.  He  directed  Mr.  Dobbins  to  pro- 
ceed to  Buffalo  on  the  following  day,  and  bring  on 
forty  seamen  from  the  navy-yard ;  also  some  mus- 
kets and  cartridges,  and,  if  possible,  two  twelve- 
pounders  ;  and  wrote,  before  going  to  rest,  to  the 
navy-agent  in  Pittsburgh,  to  hurry  on  the  missing 
carpenters  the  moment  they  should  appear,  and 
to  forward  a  number  of  articles  required  by  the 
builder. 

These  deficiencies,  and  the  distance  from  which 
they  were  to  be  supplied,  convey  a  lively  idea  of 
the  arduous  nature  of  the  undertaking  with  which 
Captain  Perry  had  been  intrusted ;  that  of  creating 
a  squadron  in  this  remote  and  thinly-peopled  re- 
gion. Mechanics,  seamen,  guns,  sailcloth,  almost 
everything  necessary  to  the  equipment  of  ships, 
had  to  be  brought,  at  that  season,  a  distance  of 
five  hundred  miles,  through  a  half-settled  country, 
destitute  of  good  roads,  and  but  partially  inter- 
sected by  water  communication.  About  one  thou- 
sand pounds  of  iron  was  procured  from  Buffalo. 
The  additional  iron  necessary  for  the  construction 
of  the  vessels  and  for  mounting  their  batteries 
was  picked  up  by  scraps  in  the  neighbouring 
smithies,  and  welded  together  for  the  heavy  work. 
Thus  the  pivot  bolts  of  the  carronades  were  made 
of  three  quarters  of  an  inch  iron.     To  perform  the 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  133 

extra  quantity  of  iron-work  which  the  deficiency 
of  large  rods  and  bars  occasioned,  was  attended 
with  great  difficulty.  Five  blacksmiths  had  been 
ordered  from  Philadelphia,  and  only  two  came, 
one  of  them  being  only  a  striker  to  the  other.  For- 
tunately, some  blacksmiths  were  afterward  found 
among  the  militia  capable  of  doing  the  common 
work. 

Although  m  our  own  country,  we  were,  in  fact, 
farther  from  our  resources  on  the  Lakes  than  the 
English.  To  be  sure  the  ocean  intervened  for 
them ;  but  the  trouble  of  crossing  it  was  as  no- 
thing to  this  laborious  and  most  costly  transporta- 
tion. The  power  and  ambition  of  England  had 
long  since  accumulated  in  the  Canadas  every  mu- 
nition of  war,  while  our  frontier  was  entirely  des- 
titute of  whatever  was  necessary  for  the  construc- 
tion or  armament  of  ships.  If  the  contest  were 
now  to  be  repeated,  we  should  enter  it  with  far 
greater  ability  to  meet  and  overpower  our  oppo- 
nents. While  the  facilities  for  the  rapid  transport- 
ation of  the  heaviest  commodities  have  immeasur- 
ably increased,  the  development  of  the  popula- 
tion, wealth,  and  power  of  our  lake  frontier  would 
enable  us  to  procure  all  the  means  of  naval  war- 
fare on  the  spot.  Ships  ready  built,  and  seamen 
to  navigate  them,  steamers,  and  all  the  elements 
of  maritime  power,  would  be  found  ready  for  em- 
ployment. 

M 


134  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

On  the  evening  of  the  thirtieth  of  March,  sail- 
ing-master W.  V.  Taylor  arrived  from  Sackett's 
Harbour  with  twenty  officers  and  men.  Captain 
Perry  determined  at  once  to  leave  Mr.  Taylor  in 
charge  of  the  vessels  at  Erie,  and  proceed  to  Pitts- 
burgh in  order  to  hasten  on  the  carpenters,  and 
procure  some  necessary  stores  which  had  not  yet 
been  obtained.  He  accordingly  set  out  the  next 
day,  and  arrived  at  Pittsburgh  on  the  fourth  of 
April.  He  immediately  made  arrangements  for 
procuring  canvass  for  the  sails  of  his  squadron 
from  Philadelphia ;  for  an  unnecessary  delay  had 
been  incurred  in  order  to  discover  whether  the  can- 
vass could  not  be  procured  at  Pittsburgh.  Cap- 
tain Perry  passed  two  days  in  visiting  the  work- 
shops of  the  different  mechanics  employed  in  w^ork- 
ing  for  his  squadron,  and  giving  them  minute  di- 
rections as  to  the  manner  of  preparing  the  articles 
that  had  been  ordered,  and  with  the  manufacture 
of  which  they  were  wholly  unacquainted.  He 
also  procured  from  Captain  A.  R.  Woolley,  the 
commissary  of  ordnance  of  the  army,  the  loan  of 
four  small  guns  and  some  muskets  for  the  defence 
of  Erie,  in  case  he  should  be  disappointed  in  re- 
ceiving those  he  had  ordered  from  Buffalo;  and 
this  gentleman  also  kindly  volunteered  to  superin- 
tend the  casting  of  the  shot  which  would  be  re- 
quired for  the  squadron.  He  subsequently  render- 
ed great  assistance  in  supplying  military  stores  for 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  135 

the  fleet,  and  received  the  warmest  thanks  of  Per- 
ry. With  regard  to  the  carpenters,  he  found,  to 
his  annoyance,  that,  while  they  had  passed  on  to 
Erie  by  land,  their  tools  had  been  sent  by  water, 
and  would  not  probably  arrive  so  soon  as  they. 
The  block-makers  from  Philadelphia  had  also  got 
separated  from  their  tools,  which  had  not  yet  ar- 
rived. Having  urgently  impressed  on  the  various 
persons  engaged  in  supplying  articles  for  the 
squadron  the  necessity  of  having  them  finished 
by  the  first  of  May,  he  set  out  from  Pittsburgh  on 
the  seventh  of  April,  and  reached  Erie  on  the 
tenth.  He  found  the  vessels  much  advanced  in 
their  construction  since  his  departure,  but  the  mus- 
kets and  cartridges  which  he  had  ordered  from 
Buffalo  had  not  arrived,  as  they  could  not  be  pro- 
cured in  that  place.  The  forethought  which  had 
induced  him  to  procure  muskets  and  cannon  at 
Pittsburgh,  as  an  additional  precaution  for  the  de- 
fence of  his  vessels  while  building,  was  thus  fully 
justified,  and,  ere  long,  he  was  able  to  prepare  such 
ample  means  of  resistance  as  to  secure  to  the  as- 
sailants a  warm  reception  should  they  attempt  the 
destruction  of  the  vessels.  At  his  earnest  request, 
General  Mead,  the  commanding  officer  in  the 
neighbourhood,  caused  five  hundred  militia  to  be 
stationed  at  Erie  to  assist  in  its  defence. 

Early  in  May  the  three  gunboats  were  launched 
and  equipped  for  service,  and  the  two  brigs,  the 


136  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

keels  of  which  were  but  just  laid  when  Captain 
Perry  arrived  at  Erie  towards  the  close  of  March, 
were  now  nearly  planked  up,  with  the  prospect  of 
being  ready  to  be  launched  in  the  course  of  three 
weeks.  They  were,  in  fact,  launched  on  the  twen- 
ty-fourth of  May.  The  frames  of  the  vessels  were 
of  white  and  black  oak  and  chestnut,  the  out- 
side planking  of  oak,  and  the  decks  of  pine.  The 
trees  were  cut  down  on  the  spot,  sawed  up,  and 
often,  on  the  same  day,  became  part  of  the  ves- 
sels. The  brigs  were  one  hundred  and  forty-one 
feet  in  their  greatest  length,  thirty  feet  beam; 
they  measured  about  five  hundred  tons  each,  and 
were  pierced  for  twenty  guns. 

At  this  conjuncture  Captain  Perry  made  a  sud- 
den visit  to  Lake  Ontario.  The  occasion  which 
called  him  there,  and  the  circumstances  which  at- 
tended his  visit,  are  briefly  and  sententiously  de- 
scribed in  a  copy  of  a  letter,  probably  to  his  pa- 
rents, left  among  his  papers.  As  it  is  by  far  the 
most  detailed  account  he  has  left  of  the  affairs  in 
which  he  took  part,  for  he  had  an  almost  invinci- 
ble aversion  to  the  use  of  his  pen,  and  as  the 
whole  document,  and  the  actions  which  it  describes, 
are  strikingly  characteristic  of  the  man,  we  can- 
not offer  a  higher  gratification  to  the  reader  than 
by  transcribing  it,  or  furnish  him  with  a  truer  idea 
of  the  subject  of  this  biography. 

"  On  the  evening  of  the  twenty-third  of  May,  I 


OLIVER    HAZART)    PERRY.  137 

received  information,  about  sunset,  that  Commo- 
dore Chauncey  would  in  a  day  or  two  arrive  at  Ni- 
agara, when  an  attack  would  be  made  on  Fort 
George.  He  had  previously  promised  me  the 
command  of  the  seamen  and  marines  that  might 
land  from  the  fleet.  Without  hesitation,  I  deter- 
mined to  join  him.  I  left  Erie  about  dark  in  a 
small  four-oared  open  boat.  The  night  was  squal- 
ly and  very  dark.  After  encountering  head  winds 
and  many  difficulties,  1  arrived  at  Buffalo  on  the 
evening  of  the  twenty-fourth,  refreshed,  and  re- 
mained there  until  daylight;  I  then  passed  the 
■whole  of  the  British  lines  in  my  boat  within  mus- 
ket-shot. Passing  Strawberry  Island,  several  peo- 
ple on  our  side  of  the  river  hailed  and  beckoned 
me  on  shore.  On  landing,  they  pointed  out  about 
forty  men  on  the  end  of  Grand  Island,  who  doubt- 
less were  placed  there  to  intercept  boats.  In  a 
few  moments  I  should  have  been  in  their  hands. 
I  then  proceeded  with  more  caution.  As  we  ar- 
rived at  Schlosser  it  rained  violently.  No  horse 
could  be  procured.  I  determined  to  push  forward 
on  foot;  walked  about  two  miles  and  a  half, 
when  the  rain  fell  in  such  torrents  I  was  obliged 
to  take  shelter  in  a  house  at  hand.  The  sailors 
whom  I  had  left  with  the  boat,  hearing  of  public 
horses  on  the  commons,  determined  to  catch  one 
for  me.  They  found  an  old  pacing  one  which 
could  not  run  away,  and  brought  him  in,  rigged 
M2 


138  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

a  rope  from  the  boat  into  a  bridle,  and  borrowed 
a  saddle  without  either  stirrup,  girth,  or  crupper. 
Thus  accoutred,  they  pursued  me,  and  found  me 
at  the  house  where  I  had  stopped.  The  rain 
ceasing,  I  mounted ;  my  legs  hung  down  the  sides 
of  the  horse,  and  I  was  obliged  to  steady  the  sad- 
dle by  holding  by  the  mane.  In  this  style  I  en- 
tered the  camp,  it  raining  again  most  violently. 
Colonel  Porter  being  the  first  to  discover  me,  in- 
sisted upon  my  taking  his  horse,  as  I  had  some 
distance  to  ride  to  the  other  end  of  the  camp,  off 
which  the  Madison  lay. 

"After  innumerable  difficulties,  I  reached  the 
ship  on  the  evening  of  the  twenty-fifth,  most  un- 
expectedly to  the  commodore  and  all  the  i/ficers 
of  the  squadron,  who  were  assembled  to  receive 
orders.  The  commodore  appeared  delighted  to 
see  me,  shook  me  cordially  by  the  hand,  and  ob- 
served that  *  no  person  on  earth  at  that  particular 
time  could  be  more  welcome.'  This  remark  he 
more  than  once  repeated.  As  soon  as  we  were 
alone  he  informed  me  of  all  his  plans.  They 
were  really  judicious,  and  I  had  nothing  to  offer 
in  addition.  In  the  morning,  the  commodore  and 
myself,  in  the  pilot-boat  schooner  Lady  of  the 
Lake,  reconnoitred  the  enemy's  batteries  with 
care  and  attention,  and  made  the  necessary  ar- 
rangements for  the  disposition  of  the  vessels  of 
the  squadron.     We  then  called  on  General  Dear- 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  139 

bom,  and  the  commodore  urged  the  necessity  of 
an  attack  the  next  morning,  to  which  the  general, 
who  appears  to  place  unlimited  confidence  in  the 
commodore,  immediately  assented,  and  issued  the 
general  order,  which  you  will  find  published  in  the 
Buffalo  Gazette  of  the  seventh  of  June,  signed  by 
Winfield  Scott,  adjutant-general.  '  The  last  clause 
places  the  landing  of  the  troops  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Commodore  Chauncey.  The  commodore 
informed  General  Dearborn,  as  well  as  generals 
Lewis,  Boyd,  Chandler,  and  Winder,  that  this  duty 
would  be  performed  by  me. 

"  In  the  afternoon  the  commodore  asked  me  to 
go  with  him  and  see  the  different  generals,  and  ar- 
range the  plan  of  debarcation.  We  met  them  to- 
gether, when  the  commodore  told  them  I  was  ap- 
pointed to  superintend  the  landing  of  the  troops ; 
with  which  they  politely  expressed  their  satisfac- 
tion. I  asked  the  general  if  he  would  be  so  good 
as  to  explain  how  he  wanted  his  men  Ian  Jed ;  in 
fact,  to  show  me  his  order  of  battle.  I  then  could 
arrange  the  boats  so  as  to  place  the  troops  on 
shore  at  any  given  time  or  place.  He  said  really 
he  had  no  order  of  battle  more  than  the  general 
order ;  that  he  had  only  received  that  a  few  hours 
before,  and  had  made  no  arrangements.  I  then 
endeavoured  to  show  them  the  manner  in  which  I 
thought  the  boats  should  be  formed  to  land  the 
troops  with  the  most  expedition,  and  so  as  to  pre- 


140  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

vent  loss ;  which  was,  with  the  advance  guard  in 
one  line,  the  boats  being  separated  fifty  feet ;  each 
brigade  formed  in  one  line,  with  the  same  distance 
between  the  boats.  By  this  means  the  fire  of  the 
enemy  would  not  have  such  an  effect  as  if  the 
boats  were  in  close  order  and  in  several  lines. 
General  Winder,  who  is  their  scientific  man,  had 
taken  it  into  his  head  to  advance  with  his  brigade 
formed  into  three  lines;  and  all  the  arguments 
the  commodore  and  I  could  make  use  of  could 
not  convince  him,  although  he  said  he  would  land 
as  I  might  direct.  Finding  that  they  had  no 
plan,  that  they  hardly  knew  what  they  were  go- 
ing at,  when  we  had  taken  leave,  I  observed  to  the 
commodore  I  did  not  wish  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  them,  as  no  credit  could  be  gained ;  the 
boats  would  be  rowed  by  soldiers,  who  would 
know  less  than  their  generals,  and  that  their  mis- 
conduct, should  any  disaster  happen,  would  attach 
to  me.  He  agreed  with  me,  and  said  he  did  not 
mean  to  place  me  in  so  awkward  a  situation ;  that 
they  might  get  on  shore  as  they  could.  I,  at  the 
same  time,  told  him  I  would  go  in  with  the  ad- 
vanced guard,  and  assist  Colonel  Scott  with  my 
advice.  Colonel  M'Comb,  who  lives  on  board 
the  ship  with  the  commodore,  and  is  really  a  sol- 
dier, and,  at  the  same  time,  a  modest  man,  came 
down  from  the  general's  quarters  with  us.  Seeing 
me  .smile,  he  observed,  *  I  see  you  are  amused  to 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      141 

see  what  system  and  order  our  generals  observe. 
I  wish  to  God  the  commodore  commanded  the 
army  as  well  as  the  navy !' 

"  It  was  eventually  arranged  that  five  hundred 
seamen  and  marines  should  be  landed  from  the 
vessels,  to  be  under  my  command,  to  act  with  Col- 
onel M'Corab's  regiment.  The  seamen  were  only 
to  use  the  boarding-pike.  Thus  we  had  every- 
thing arranged  on  our  part.  At  three  in  the  morn- 
ing we  were  called.  It  was  calm,  with  a  thick 
mist.  At  daylight  the  commodore  directed  the 
schooners  to  take  the  stations  which  had  been  pre- 
viously assigned  them  as  soon  as  possible,  and 
commence  a  fire  upon  the  enemy's  batteries.  At 
the  same  time,  he  asked  me  if  I  would  go  on  shore, 
see  General  Lewis,  hurry  the  embarcation,  and 
bring  the  general  off  with  me.  This  I  did.  I 
found  that  many  of  the  troops  had  not  yet  got 
into  their  boats.  General  Lewis  accompanied  me 
on  board  the  Madison.  General  Dearborn  had 
gone  on  board  previously.  The  ship  was  under 
way,  with  a  light  breeze  from  the  eastward,  quite 
fair  for  us;  a  thick  mist  hanging  over  Newark 
and  Fort  George,  the  sun  breaking  forth  in  the 
east,  the  vessels  all  under  way,  the  lake  covered 
with  several  hundred  large  boats,  filled  with  sol- 
diers, horses,  and  artillery,  advancing  towards  the 
enemy,  altogether  formed  one  of  the  grandest 
spectacles  I  ever  beheld.     The  breeze  now  fresh- 


142  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

ened  a  little,  which  soon  brought  us  opposite  the 
town  of  Newark.  The  landing-place  fixed  upon 
was  about  two  miles  from  the  town,  up  the  Ni- 
agara. The  commodore,  observing  some  of  the 
schooners  taking  a  wrong  position,  requested  me 
to  go  in  shore  and  direct  them  where  to  anchor. 
I  immediately  jumped  into  a  small  boat,  and,  in 
passing  through  the  flat  boats,  I  saw  Colonel  Scott, 
and  told  him  I  would  be  off  to  join  him  and  ac- 
company him  on  shore.  When  I  got  on  board 
the  Ontario,  I  found  her  situation  and  the  Asp's, 
and  directed  them  to  be  got  under  way  and  an- 
chored at  a  place  I  pointed  out  to  the  commanding 
officers,  where  they  could  enfilade  two  forts.  The 
enemy  had  no  idea  our  vessels  could  come  as  near 
the  shore  as  they  did,  many  of  them  anchoring 
within  half  musket-shot.  I  pulled  along  the  shore 
within  musket-shot,  and  observed  a  situation  where 
one  of  the  schooners  could  act  with  great  effect. 
I  directed  her  commander  to  take  it.  This  was  so 
that  he  could  play  directly  in  the  rear  of  the  fort. 
On  opening  his  fire,  the  consequence  was  such  as 
I  had  imagined.  The  enemy  could  not  stand  to 
load  their  guns,  and  were  obliged  to  leave  the  fort 
precipitately.  I  then  pulled  off  to  the  ship,  and, 
after  conversing  with  the  commodore  and  General 
Dearborn,  and  observing  to  the  latter  that  the 
boats  of  the  advanced  guard  were  drifting  to  lee- 
ward very  fast ;  that  they  would,  if  not  ordered 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  143 

immediately  to  pull  to  windward,  fall  too  far  to 
leeward  to  be  ujider  cover  of  the  schooners,  and 
would  take  those  in  the  rear  still  farther  to  lee- 
ward, he  begged  of  me  to  go  and  get  them  to 
windward.  I  jumped  into  my  boat  and  pulled  for 
the  advanced  guard,  took  Colonel  Scott  into  my 
boat,  and,  with  much  difficulty,  we  convinced  the 
officers  and  soldiers  of  the  necessity  of  keeping 
more  to  windward. 

*'  As  soon  as  we  got  them  into  a  proper  situa- 
tion, I  pulled  ahead  for  the  schooner  nearest  in 
shore,  and  the  advanced  guard  pushed  for  the 
shore.  On  getting  alongside  of  the  schooner,  the 
man  at  the  masthead  told  me  the  whole  British 
army  was  rapidly  advancing  for  the  point  of  land- 
ing. Knowing  many  of  the  officers  had  believed 
the  British  would  not  make  a  stand,  and,  as  they 
could  not  be  seen  by  the  boats,  being  behind  a 
bank,  I  pulled  as  quick  as  possible  to  give  Scott 
notice,  that  his  men  might  not  be  surprised  by  the 
opening  of  the  enemy's  fire.  He  was  on  the  right 
and  the  schooner  on  the  left.  This  obliged  me  to 
pull  the  whole  length  of  the  line,  and,  as  the  boats 
were  in  no  regular  order,  I  had  to  pull  ahead  of 
one  and  astern  of  another.  Before  I  got  up  to 
Scott,  although  within  a  boat  or  two,  the  enemy 
appeared  on  the  bank  and  gave  us  a  volley. 
Nearly  the  whole  of  their  shot  went  over  our 
heads.    Our  troops  appeared  to  be  somewhat  con- 


144  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

fused,  firing  without  order  and  without  aim.  1 
was  apprehensive  they  would  kill  each  other,  and 
hailed  them  to  pull  away  for  the  shore,  many  of 
their  boats  having  stopped  rowing.  They  soon 
recovered,  and  pulled  for  the  shore  with  great 
spirit.  General  Boyd  led  his  brigade  on  in  a  very 
gallant  manner,  under  a  very  heavy  fire,  it  having 
suffered  more  severely  than  any  other.  Fortu- 
nately, the  enemy,  from  apprehension  of  the  fire 
from  the  schooners,  kept,  back  until  our  troops 
were  within  fifty  yards  of  the  shore ;  this  deceived 
them,  and  their  fire  was  thrown  over  our  heads. 

"  I  remained  encouraging  the  troops  to  advance 
until  the  first  brigade  landed,  when,  observing  the 
schooners  did  not  fire  briskly,  from  the  apprehen- 
sion of  injuring  our  own  troops,  I  went  on  board 
the  Hamilton,  of  nine  guns,  commanded  by  Lieu- 
tenant Macpherson,  and  opened  a  tremendous  fire 
of  grape  and  canister.  About  the  time  I  got  on 
board  the  schooner,  our  troops  had  attempted  to 
form  on  the  bank;  probably  a  hundred  got  up. 
They  were  obliged  to  retreat  under  the  bank, 
where  they  were  completdy  sheltered  from  the 
eflfect  of  the  enemy's  fire.  The  enemy  could  not 
stand  the  united  effect  of  the  grape  and  canister 
from  the  schooner,  and  of  a  well-directed  fire  from 
the  troops,  but  broke  and  fled  in  great  confusion, 
we  plying  them  with  round  shot.  Our  troops  then 
formed  on  the  bank.     General  Lewis  came  on 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY,  145 

board  the  schooner  from  the  ship  at  this  time. 
After  waiting  a  few  moments,  and  observing  the 
disposition  of  things  on  shore,  he  landed.  I  land- 
ed at  the  same  time." 

This  document  is  suited  to  shed  no  little  lustre 
on  the  fame  of  Perry,  and  to  exhibit  his  conduct 
and  character  in  a  new  and  admirable  light.  It 
may  also  serve  to  show  us  what  kind  of  generals 
we  are  likely  again  to  have,  if  we  abolish  our 
present  admirable  nursery  of  officers  in  the  mili- 
tary academy  at  West  Point,  and  trust  once  more 
to  Providence  and  inspiration  in  the  hour  of  battle 
for  the  necessary  insight  into  military  affairs.  It 
will.also  be  observed,  that  the  names  of  Scott  and 
M*Comb,  mentioned  by  Perry  with  approbation, 
became  afterward  well  known  to  fame.  We  see 
from  Perry's  account,  that,  availing  himself  of 
a  promise  of  Commodore  Chauncey  to  give  him 
the  command  of  the  seamen  and  marines  on  Lake 
Ontario  in  the  event  of  a  descent  on  the  enemy's 
territory,  and  of  a  moment  when  his  presence  at 
Erie  could  be  dispensed  with,  he  set  out,  volunta- 
rily and  without  an  order,  at  a  moment's  warning, 
at  the  beginning  of  a  dark  and  squally  night,  in  a 
small  boat,  to  make  a  voyage  of  near  one  hun- 
dred miles  over  an  inland  sea  subject  to  violent 
tempests.  Arrived  at  Buffalo,  we  find  him  pursu- 
ing his  adventurous  course  down  the  Niagara  River, 
within  musket-shot  of  the  enemy's  territory,  and, 
'     N 


146  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

after  abandoning  his  boat  near  the  Rapids,  pursu- 
ing his  way  through  the  wilderness  which  skirted 
the  bank,  alone,  on  foot,  and  during  a  violent 
storm.  It  was  thus,  when  the  means  of  being  use- 
ful were  within  his  reach,  that  he  manifested  the 
"  ardent  desire  to  meet  the  enemies  of  his  coun- 
try" which  he  had  heretofore  urged  in  his  appli- 
cations for  active  employment.  The  facts  which 
he  states  with  regard  to  his  own  movements  du- 
ring the  attack  on  Fort  George,  show  conclusively 
that  its  capture  must  have  been  in  no  inconsider- 
able degree  owing  to  his  indefatigable  exertions 
in  every  quarter,  his  imperturbable  calmness  and 
presence  of  mind,  and  quick  military  perceptions. 
He  seems  to  have  exercised  no  control  over  the 
movements  and  disembarcation  of  the  troops,  as 
had  been  originally  intended,  from  a  hopelessness 
of  procuring  a  concert  of  action  on  the  part  of  the 
generals,  and  an  unwillingness  to  bear  the  respon- 
sibility of  failure.  When,  however,  he  discovered 
them  falling  into  disorder,  and  drifting  to  leeward 
of  the  appointed  landing-place,  he  pointed  it  out 
to  the  commanding  general,  and,  forgetting  his 
previous  scruples,  readily  undertook,  at  his  re- 
quest, to  remedy  the  evil.  The  ascendancy  of  a 
master  mind  was  evident  in  the  ready  compliance 
which  his  directions  met  with,  and  in  the  way  in 
which  the  soldiery  rallied  to  his  cries  of  encour- 
agement.   Invested  at  once  with  the  authority  of 


OLIVER     HAZARD    PERRY.  147 

the  general  and  commodore,  and  guided  by  the 
inspiration  of  an  intuitive  military  conception,  we 
find  him  hastily  remodelling  the  order  of  the  boats 
when  in  contact  with  the  enemy,  stationing  anew 
the  vessels  where  their  fire  would  be  most  destruct- 
ive, directing  it  in  person,  and  flitting  from  point 
to  point,  wherever  the  circumstances  of  the  day 
were  critical  or  danger  imminent.  Commodore 
Chauncey,  in  his  official  report  of  the  naval  oper- 
ations of  the  day,  did  ample  justice  to  the  services 
of  Captain  Perry,  in  joining  him  from  Erie  and 
volunteering  his  services ;  acknowledged  the  great 
assistance  he  had  received  from  him  in  superin- 
tending the  debarcation  of  the  troops,  and  said  of 
him,  in  conclusion,  that  "  he  was  present  at  every 
point  where  he  could  be  useful,  under  showers  of 
musketry,  but  fortunately  escaped  unhurt." 

The  capture  of  Fort  George  was  attended  by 
important  consequences.  It  led  almost  immedi- 
ately to  the  evacuation,  by  the  British,  of  their 
whole  frontier  on  the  Niagara.  Both  banks  being 
now  in  our  possession,  we  were  left  in  complete 
control  of  the  navigation  of  the  river.  One  of 
the  fruits  of  this  advantage  was,  that  Captain  Per- 
ry could  now  remove  into  Lake  Erie  five  small 
vessels  belonging  to  the  government,  which  hith- 
erto had  been  detained  at  Black  Rock  by  the 
enemy's  batteries  on  the  Canada  snore.  He  was 
despatched  on  this  service  by  Commodore  Chaun- 


148  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY 

cey  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  May,  with  a  party  of 
officers  and  fifty  seamen.  The  vessels  had  recent- 
ly been  fitted  for  service  by  Mr.  Eckford,  the  na- 
val constructor  on  Lake  Ontario.  One  of  them 
was  the  Caledonia,  which  Lieutenant  Elliott  had 
surprised  and  taken  from  the  enemy  some  months 
before.  The  others  had  been  purchased  by  him, 
in  a  situation  where  they  could  only  become  of 
use  in  the  event  of  the  enemy  being  driven  from 
the  opposite  shore.  This  event,  which  could  have 
been  by  no  means  certain,  having  actually  oc- 
curred. Captain  Perry  was  now  able  to  remove 
these  vessels  into  Lake  Erie.  The  task,  though 
imopposed  by  the  enemy,  was,  however,  one  of 
no  little  difficulty.  He  was  obhged  to  drag  the 
vessels  most  laboriously  against  the  current  of 
the  Niagara,  which  varied  in  strength  from  five  to 
seven  knots,  by  the  aid  of  oxen  and  the  exertions 
of  his  seamen,  assisted  by  two  hundred  soldiers, 
under  the  command  of  captains  Brevoort  and 
Young,  lent  by  General  Dearborn  to  assist  in  de- 
fending and  navigating  the  vessels  to  Erie. 

Having  taken  on  board  all  the  stores  in  the 
navy-yard  at  Black  Rock,  the  vessels  were  track- 
ed up  the  current ;  a  toilsome  task,  which  occu- 
pied near  a  fortnight,  and  of  which,  in  writing  to 
Commodore  Chauncey,  he  pronounced  the  fatigue 
"  almost  incredible."  On  the  evening  of  the  four- 
teenth of  June,  he  set  sail  from  Buffalo  for  Erie. 


OLIVER     HAZARD    PERRY.  149 

His  little  squadron  consisted  of  the  brig  Caledonia, 
of  three  long  twenty-four's,  the  schooners  Somers, 
of  two  long  thirty-two's,  Tigress  and  Ohio,  of  one 
twenty-four  pounder  each,  and  the  sloop  Trippe, 
of  one  long  thirty-two.  The  enemy  having  sever- 
al years  before  commenced  the  creation  of  a  naval 
force  on  Lake  Erie,  had,  at  the  time,  the  complete 
command  of  the  lake,  on  which  it  possessed  a 
commissioned  force  more  than  six  times  greater 
than  that  with  which  Captain  Perry  was  about  to 
proceed  to  Erie  in  order  to  join  the  vessels  in  pro- 
cess of  equipment  there.  The  British  force  on  the 
lake  was  commanded  by  Captain  Finnis,  a  com- 
mander in  the  royal  navy,  and  consisted  of  the 
ship  Queen  Charlotte,  .of  four  hundred  tons  and 
seventeen  guns,  the  schooner  Lady  Prevost,  of  two 
hundred  and  thirty  tons,  mounting  thirteen  guns, 
the  brig  Hunter,  of  ten  guns,  the  schooners  Little 
Belt,  of  three  guns,  and  Chippeway,  of  one  gun. 
To  remove  our  insignificant  flotilla  from  Buffalo  to 
Erie,  in  the  face  of  such  an  overpowering  force, 
was  a  task  of  difficulty,  requiring  no  little  vigil- 
ance and  address.  By  a  skilful  display  of  these 
qualities,  Captain  Perry  succeeded,  though  nar- 
rowly watched,  opposed  by  contrary  winds,  and 
suffering  from  serious  indisposition,  in  gettmg  his 
vessels  past  the  enemy  and  safely  into  the  harbour 
of  Erie,  off  which  the  enemy  have  in  sight  as  he 
N2 


150  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

"was  going  in  on  the  evening  of  the  eighteenth.* 
The  British  squadron  and  our  flotilla  had  been  in 
sight  together  during  the  day  from  Chatauque, 
about  twenty  miles  from  Erie ;  but  the  insignifi- 
cance of  our  vessels  had  enabled  them  to  pass  un- 
observed. 

The  business  of  equipping  the  squadron  now 
went  rapidly  forward ;  but,  as  yet,  only  one  hun- 
dred and  ten  officers  and  men  had  arrived,  inclu- 
ding those  brought  up  by  the  flotilla. 

On  Perry's  arrival  at  Erie  he  found  a  letter 
from  the  secretary  of  the  navy,  highly  compli- 
mentary of  his  conduct  in  the  landing  at  Fort 
George,  and  of  his  exertions  in  preparing  the 
force  on  Lake  Erie.  In  reply,  while  he  expressed 
a  becoming  sense  of  the  responsibility  of  his  situ- 
ation, and  doubts  of  his  capacity  to  meet  the  ex- 
pectation of  the  government.  Perry  assured  the 
secretary  of  his  ardent  desire  to  possess  the  fa- 
vourable opinion  of  the  government  and  of  his 
countrymen,  and  that  no  diligence  or  exertion  of 
which  he  was  capable  should  be  wanting  to  pro- 
mote the  honour  of  the  service.  He  informed  the 
secretary  that  one  of  the  brigs  was  completely 
rigged  and  had  her  battery  mounted,  the  other 
would  be  equally  far  advanced  in  a  week;  the 
sails  of  both  vessels  were  nearly  completed,  and, 

♦  Mr.  Cooper  says  Perry  did  not  leave  Buifalo  until  the  end 
of  June. 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  151 

ott  the  arrival  of  the  shot  and  anchors  from  Pitts- 
burgh, from  which  they  were  confidently  expected 
soon,  all  the  vessels  would  be  ready  for  service  in 
one  day  after  the  reception  of  the  crews. 

From  fatigue  and  exposure  in  getting  his  flotilla 
from  Black  Rock  to  Buffalo,  and  want  of  rest 
while  passing  the  enemy  on  the  lake,  added  to  the 
effects  of  the  climate,  Captain  Perry  now  became 
still  more  seriously  indisposed.  Many  of  his  men 
were  in  the  same  condition.  Writing  to  the  com- 
modore on  the  twenty-seventh  of  June,  he  tells 
him,  "  from  sickness  and  other  causes,  we  cannot 
muster  more  than  fifty  or  sixty  men  who  are  of 
any  service  to  us ;  these  work  almost  day  and 
night."  Fortunately,  Perry  soon  recovered  suffi- 
ciently to  attend  to  his  urgent  duties,  though  his 
health  continued  feeble  while  he  remained  on  the 
lakes,  and  his  exertions,  of  course,  the  more  labori- 
ous. •  Of  the  fifty  sick  at  this  time,  a  considerable 
portion  were  the  wounded  and  infirm  from  Black 
Rock.  He  considered  thirty  out  of  his  one  hun- 
dred and  ten  men  not  only  entirely  useless  at  the 
time,  but  likely  to  continue  so. 

On  the  tenth  of  July  Captain  Perry  received  a 
letter  from  General  Dearborn,  stating  that  he  had 
explicit  directions  from  the  secretary  of  war  to 
order  the  detachment  of  two  hundred  soldiers  un- 
der Captain  Brevoort,  which  had  been  lent  to  the 
squadron  on  Lake  Erie,  to  return  to  Fort  George, 


152  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

and  requesting  that  they  might  be  immediately 
sent  to  him.  At  the  same  time,  he  kindly  offered 
that  Captain  Brevoort  might  remain  attached  to 
the  squadron,  if  it  were  agreeable  both  to  Captain 
Perry  and  to  himself,  as  his  familiarity  with  the 
navigation  of  Lake  Erie  and  the  upper  lakes 
might  render  him  peculiarly  useful.  Captain  Bre- 
voort had  been  more  than  a  year  employed  in 
navigating  the  brig  Adams,  employed  by  the  war 
department  in  the  transportation  of  military  stores. 
This  vessel  had  been  captured  by  the  British  at 
Detroit,  and  called  by  them  after  the  place  where 
she  was  taken.  The  detachment  was  accordingly 
sent  to  Buffalo  on  the  following  day,  under  Cap- 
tain Younge ;  and  the  boats  which  took  the  party 
down  were  left  to  bring  up  the  officers  and  men, 
now  so  anxiously  expected  from  Lake  Ontario,  to 
man  the  squadron.  Captain  Brevoort  remained 
to  command  the  marines  of  the  Niagara.  To  sup- 
ply, in  some  measure,  the  deficiency  occasioned 
by  the  withdrawal  of  the  soldiers.  Lieutenant  J. 
Brooks,  of  the  marine  corps,  was  occupied  in  re- 
cruiting at  Erie.  He  had  previously  brought  on  a 
small  detachment  recruited  by  him  in  Pittsburgh, 
and  eventually  succeeded  in  enlisting  thirty  ma- 
rines. 

On  the  twelfth  of  July  Perry  received  and  com- 
municated to  his  officers  the  official  news  of  the 
capture  of  the  Chesapeake,  and  the  death  of  her 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  153 

gallant  commander  and  a  number  of  his  officers, 
together  with  the  customary  order  to  wear  mourn- 
ing. There  had  been  much,  however,  in  the 
quenchless  heroism  of  Lawrence  to  sooth  the 
painful  feelings  and  gratify  the  pride  of  his  coun- 
trymen. In  his  dying  injunction,  "  Don't  give  up 
the  ship,"  he  bequeathed  a  watchword  which  was 
yet  to  herald  them  to  victory.  That  his  memory 
was  not  coupled  with  discouragement  was  soon 
after  evinced  by  an  order  from  the  navy  depart- 
ment to  give  his  name  to  one  of  the  brigs ;  and 
that  which  Perry  had  fixed  on  for  his  own  was 
called  the  Lawrence.  The  other  was  called  the 
Niagara. 

Only  five  days  after  being  called  upon  to  relin- 
quish the  two  hundred  men  which  constituted  the 
main  force  of  his  squadron,  he  received  instnic- 
tions  to  co-operate  with  General  Harrison,  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  northwestern  army,  in 
support  of  the  military  movements  which  he  was 
making  for  the  recovery  of  the  territory  of  Michi- 
gan, and  the  invasion  of  Upper  Canada.  This  or- 
der of  the  secretary's  presupposed  that  the  squad- 
ron at  Lake  Erie  was  ready  for  active  service; 
and,  of  course,  the  issue  of  the  necessary  orders 
on  the  part  of  the  government  for  officering  and 
manning  the  squadron.  These  had  actually  been 
given  to  Commodore  Chauncey,  who  commanded 
on  Lake  Erie  as  well  as  Lake  Ontario,  and  the 


154  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

necessary  officers  and  men  placed  at  his  disposal ; 
but  so  absorbed  was  he  in  the  interest  of  his  im- 
mediate command,  that  the  officers  and  men  sent 
to  him  for  distribution  throughout  the  naval  force 
subject  to  his  orders,  were  retained  almost  exclu- 
sively where  he  was  himself  present.  It  seems  to 
have  been  his  intention  to  detain  the  crews  until 
the  vessels  on  Lake  Erie  were  ready  to  sail,  in  the 
hope  of  being  able,  in  the  mean  time,  to  overpower 
the  enemy  on  Lake  Ontario,  and  then  repeat  the 
same  process  in  person  on  Lake  Erie.  But,  inde- 
pendently of  the  disadvantage  of  keeping  officers 
and  men  strangers  to  each  other  and  to  the  vessels 
in  which  they  were  to  sail  until  the  moment  they 
were  to  be  engaged,  it  was  expecting  almost  a 
miracle  that  the  vessels  should  be  equipped  in  so 
short  a  time  by  such  a  small  number  of  men.  But, 
strange  as  it  may  seem,  by  the  unremitting  zeal 
and  exertions  of  the  youthful  commander,  desti- 
tute almost  entirely  of  subordinate  officers,  such  as 
boatswains  and  gunners,  and  attending  personally 
to  the  minutest  details ;  and  by  the  unceasing  ef- 
forts of  a  handful  of  men,  reduced  by  sickness 
both  in  numbers  and  strength,  and  sadly  over- 
worked, yet  strangers  to  murmuring  and  almost 
without  an  attempt  to  desert,  the  vessels  were  now 
rigged,  armed,  and  ready  for  service.  A  consid- 
erable part  of  the  shot  had  arrived  from  Pitts- 
burgh ;  the  anchors,  which  had  not  yet  been  re- 


OLIVER     HAZARD    PERRY.  155 

ceived,  were  confidently  expected  in  a  week.  On 
the  day  that  Perry  received  these  orders  to  co-op- 
erate with  General  Harrison,  he  wrote  to  Commo- 
dore Chauncey  to  communicate  them,  and  ex- 
pressed his  confident  assurance  that  the  squadron 
would  be  ready,  in  all  other  respects,  for  service 
so  soon  as  the  necessary  men  could  reach  him. 
"  I  cannot,"  he  says,  "  express  to  you  the  anxiety 
I  feel  respecting  them."  He  also  stated  his  great 
desire  to  have  the  services  of  the  officers  who 
were  to  join  him,  and  especially  of  the  commander 
of  the  second  brig. 

Having  received  an  intimation  that  the  men 
would  soon  be  on  their  way — for  he  heard  very 
seldom  from  Commodore  Chauncey,  and  was  chief- 
ly indebted  to  rumour  for  a  knowledge  of  his 
movements — he  despatched  a  sailing-master  to 
Buffalo  on  the  eighteenth  of  July,  with  two  boats, 
to  be  joined  to  the  two  which  had  been  sent  down 
with  the  detachment  of  troops,  and  with  such 
others  as  could  be  procured,  sufficient  in  number 
to  bring  up  three  hundred  and  fifty  men,  which 
was  the  number  which  Captain  Perry  expected 
from  Lake  Ontario  to  complete  his  crews.  The 
officer  was  directed  to  use  great  vigilance  in  re- 
turning with  the  men,  on  account  of  the  enemy's 
squadron,  which  was  almost  daily  in  sight  off 
Erie,  and  might  be  considered  as  blockading  the 
port ;  he  was  to  keep  close  in  shore,  and  call  at 


156  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

two  designated  rendezvous,  Chatauque  and  the 
Twenty-mile  Creek,  by  the  way,  in  order  to  re- 
ceive instructions  for  his  government.  About  this 
time  we  find  him  informing  General  Harrison,  on 
the  nineteenth  of  July,  that  he  had  at  that  date 
one  hundred  and  twenty  officers  and  men  fit  for 
duty,  and  more  than  fifty  on  the  sick  list. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  July  Captain  Perry  re- 
ceived a  second  order  from  the  secretary  of  the 
navy,  evidently  written  under  the  belief  that  the 
squadron  was  manned,  to  co-operate  with  General 
Harrison.  He  had  also  received  repeated  com- 
munications from  General  Harrison  with  regard  to 
his  own  critical  situation,  setting  forth  the  impor- 
tant relief  that  the  co-operation  of  the  squadron 
would  afford  him,  and  urging  the  favourableness 
of  the  moment  to  strike  a  blow  at  the  enemy's 
squadron  before  he  should  launch  his  new  ship, 
the  Detroit,  which  would  turn  the  balance,  and 
give  the  enemy  a  considerable  superiority.  The 
enemy  had  quite  recently  been  strengthened  by 
the  arrival  of  Captain  Barclay,  a  very  distinguish- 
ed officer,  who  had  served  under  Nelson,  and  been 
with  him  at  Trafalgar,  to  assume  the  chief  com- 
mand. He  had  also  brought  a  number  of  experi- 
enced officers  and  a  party  of  prime  seamen.  Still 
our  squadron  was  for  the  moment  superior  in  num- 
ber of  guns,  and  the  vessels  being  now  ready  for 
service,  had  the  crews  been  at  hand,  might  have 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  157 

gone  out  with  a  confident  hope  of  capturing  the 
enemy.  This  hope  Captain  Perry  expressed  to 
the  secretary  of  the  navy  in  reply.  He  mentioned 
that  the  enemy  were  then  off  the  harbour,  and 
that,  the  moment  a  sufficient  number  of  men  ar- 
rived, he  would  be  able  to  sail,  and  tnisted  that 
the  issue  of  the  contest  would  be  favourable. 
He  could  only  state  to  the  secretary  that  he 
had  but  one  hundred  and  twenty  men  fit  for  ser- 
vice, in  addition  to  fifty  sick ;  and  offer  to  Gen- 
eral Harrison  the  same  reason  for  his  inability 
to  co-operate  with  him.  The  situation  of  Cap- 
tain Perry,  and  the  bitter  mortification  which  it 
occasioned  him,  can  be  best  learned  from  the  fol- 
lowing urgent  friendly  appeal  to  the  feelings  of 
Commodore  Chauncey. 

"  Dear  Sir, 
"  The  enemy's  fleet  of  six  sail  are  now  off  the 
bar  of  this  harbour.  What  a  golden  opportunity 
if  we  had  men !  Their  object  is  no  doubt  either 
to  blockade  or  attack  us,  or  to  carry  provisions 
and  re-enforcements  to  Maiden.  Should  it  be  to 
attack  us,  we  are  ready  to  meet  them.  I  am  con- 
stantly looking  to  the  eastward ;  every  mail  and 
every  traveller  from  that  quarter  is  looked  to  as 
the  harbinger  of  the  glad  tidings  of  our  men  be- 
ing on  their  way.  I  am  fully  aware  how  much 
your  time  must  be  occupied  with  the  important 
O 


158  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

concerns  of  the  other  lake.  Give  me  men,  sir, 
and  I  will  acquire  both  for  you  and  myself  honour 
and  glory  on  this  lake,  or  perish  in  the  attempt. 
Conceive  my  feelings ;  an  enemy  within  striking 
distance,  my  vessels  ready,  and  not  men  enough 
to  man  them.  Going  out  w^th  those  I  now  have 
is  out  of  the  question.  You  would  not  suffer  it 
were  you  here.  I  again  ask  you  to  think  of  my 
situation  ]  the  enemy  in  sight,  the  vessels  under 
my  command  more  than  sufficient,  and  ready  to 
make  sail,  and  yet  obliged  to  bite  my  fingers  with 
vexation  for  want  of  men.  I  know,  my  dear  sir, 
full  well,  you  will  send  me  the  crews  for  the  ves- 
sels as  soon  as  possible;  yet  a  day  appears  an 
age.  I  hope  that  the  w^ind  or  some  other  cause 
will  delay  the  enemy's  return  to  Maiden  until  my 
men  arrive,  and  /  will  have  them.'' 

Two  days  after  this  letter  was  written,  the  enemy 
were  becalmed  off  the  harbour.  Captain  Perry 
immediately  pulled  out  with  three  gunboats  to 
endeavour  to  annoy  them.  He  was  only  able  to 
exchange  a  few  shots  with  them,  one  of  which 
struck  the  mizzen-mast  of  the  Queen  Charlotte, 
when  a  breeze  springing  up,  they  stood  off.  On 
the  twenty-third  of  July  Captain  Perry  received 
another  communication  from  the  secretary  of  the 
navy,  urging  upon  him  the  importance  of  captu- 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  159 

ring  or  destroying  the  enemy's  squadron.  Captain 
Perry  replied  that  he  was  fully  aware  of  the  im- 
portance of  this  object.  That  his  ships  were 
ready,  but  that  he  was  without  crews.  He  told 
the  secretary  that  he  could  not  describe  to  him  the 
mortification  which  his  situation  occasioned  him. 
Had  the  secretary,  who  had  been  so  often  informed 
of  Captain  Perry's  deficiencies  in  this  respect, 
ceased  to  depend  upon  the  circuitous  and  reluctant 
transmission  of  seamen  from  Lake  Ontario,  after 
they  had  undergone  what  was  familiarly  known 
as  "  a  Sackett's  Harbour  examination,"  he  might 
have  sent  any  number  of  officers  and  seamen  di- 
rect from  Philadelphia  in  less  time  than  they  could 
be  forwarded  from  Sackett's  Harbour.  A  little 
self-dependance,  and  a  determination  which  would 
have  cost  but  a  moment's  reflection  and  the  dash 
of  a  pen  on  the  part  of  the  secretary,  would  have 
saved  all  this  trouble  and  delay,  and  the  jeopardy 
of  important  national  interests.  But  the  history 
of  no  country  could  probably  furnish  more  abun- 
dant instances  of  official  imbecility  and  misman- 
agement than  ours.  This  has  ever  been  most  ap- 
parent in  whatever  relates  to  the  navy. 

At  length,  on  the  twenty-third  of  July,  Captain 
Perry  received  a  re-enforcement  of  seventy  men 
and  officers,  and  immediately  wrote  in  the  follow- 
ing friendly  terms  to  Commodore  Chauncey : 


160  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

"  My  dear  Sir, 
"  I  have  this  moment  had  the  very  great  pleas- 
ure of  receiving  yours  by  Mr.  Champhn,  with  the 
seventy  men.  The  enemy  are  now  off  this  har- 
bour with  the  Queen  Charlotte,  Lady  Prevost, 
Chippeway,  Erie,  and  Friend's  Good  Will.  My 
vessels  are  all  ready.  For  God's  sake,  and  yours^ 
and  mine,  send  me  men  and  officers,  and  I  will 
have  them  all  in  a  day  or  two.  Commodore  Bar- 
clay keeps  just  out  of  the  reach  of  our  gunboats.^ 
I  am  not  able  to  ship  a  single  man  at  this  place. 
I  shall  try  for  volunteers  for  our  cruise.  Send  on 
the  commander,  my  dear  sir,  for  the  Niagara.  She 
xs  a  noble  vessel.  Woolsey,  Brown,  or  Elhott  I 
should  like  to  see  amazingly.*  I  am  very  defi- 
cient in  officers  of  every  kind.   Send  me  officers  and 

*  Captain  Elliott  has  caused  to  be  inserted  in  the  life  of  him- 
self the  following  passage :  "  So  fully  impressed  was  he  (Com- 
modore Perry)  with  the  belief  that  Captain  Elliott  was  the  very 
man  for  the  purpose,  that  he  wrote  to  Commodore  Chauncey, 
*  Send  me  Captain  Elliott  and  one  hundred  men,  and  I  will  en- 
gage to  beat  the  British.'  "  No  such  passage  as  this  exists 
in  the  original  letter-book  of  Perry's  Lake  Erie  command,  in 
which  all  his  letters  to  Commodore  Chauncey,  official  and  semi- 
official, are  carefully  copied.  Captain  Elliott  was  then  only 
a  lieutenant,  and  is  written  of  by  Perry  as  Lieutenant  Elliott 
several  weeks  later  than  the  date  of  this  letter.  Instead  of 
"Send  me  Captain  Elliott  and  one  hundred  men,  and  I  will 
engage  to  beat  the  British,"  which  is  so  unlike  Perry's  mode 
of  expressing  himself,  we  find  only  in  his  correspondence, 
"Woolsey,  Brown,  or  Elliott  I  should  like  to  see  amazingly." 


OLIVER    HAZAUD    PER^Y.  161 

men,  and  honour  is  within  <9ur  grasp.  The  ves-  '  / 
sels  are  all  ready  to  meet  the  enemy  the' mfciment 
they  are  officered  and  manned.  Our  sails  are 
bent,  provisions  on  board,  and,  in  fact,  everything 
is  ready.  Barclay  has  been  bearding  me  for  sev- 
eral days ;  I  long  to  have  at  him.  However  anx- 
ious I  am  to  reap  the  reward  of  the  labour  and 
anxiety  I  have  had  on  this  station,  I  shall  rejoice, 
whoever  commands,  to  see  this  force  on  the  lake, 
and  surely  I  had  rather  be  commanded  by  my 
friend  than  by  any  other.  Come,  then,  and  the 
business  is  decided  in  a  few  hours.  Barclay  shows 
no  disposition  to  avoid  the  contest." 

This  was,  indeed,  a  touching  appeal  to  the  gen- 
erosity of  Chauncey,  which  might  well  have  been 
awakened  by  that  which  Perry  displayed  in  ten- 
dering to  him  the  fruits  of  his  exertions,  a  triumph 
prepared  by  his  own  unparalleled  toils  and  un- 
ceasing anxiety.  Though  Lake  Erie  was  as  much 
within  the  command  of  Commodore  Chauncey  as 
Lake  Ontario,  he  did  not  probably  like  to  leave 
his  more  extensive  command  on  Lake  Ontario,  in 
the  presence  of  an  active  and  ingenious  enemy. 
Otherwise  he  might  easily  have  repaired  to  Lake 
Erie  with  such  a  re-enforcement  of  officers  and 
men  as  would  have  secured  his  triumph  on  that 
lake,  and  subsequently  brought  back  with  him  the 
means  of  obtaining  a  second  triumph  on  Lake  On- 

oa 


162  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

tario.  Commodore  Chauncey  did  indeed  intend 
to  assume  in  person  the  command  of  the  force  on 
Lake  Erie,  but  postponed  the  time  until  after  he 
should  have  first  beaten  the  enemy  on  Lake  On- 
tario. 

A  consideration  of  the  state  of  the  war  on  our 
northern  and  northwestern  frontier  at  this  particu- 
lar period  might  well  authorize  the  opinion  that 
Commodore  Chauncey  would  have  been  justified 
in  taking  advantage  of  Perry's  generous  offer,  con- 
ceived in  the  true  spirit  of  patriotism  and  devotion 
to  the  welfare  of  his  country,  and  repairing  to 
Lake  Erie  with  a  sufficient  force  of  officers  and 
men  to  decide  the  contest  for  superiority  immedi- 
ately in  our  favour.  The  fate  of  General  Harri- 
son's army  was  entirely  dependant  upon  that  of 
our  squadron  on  Lake  Erie.  The  British,  being 
victorious  by  land  and  water  on  our  northwestern 
frontier,  would  have  found  themselves  at  once  at 
the  head  of  our  great  navigable  rivers,  in  a  situa- 
tion to  descend  into  the  heart  of  our  country,  and 
give  it  over  to  devastation  and  all  the  horrors  of 
savage  warfare,  firom  which  the  territory  of  Mich- 
igan was  then  fatally  suffering.  Had  Commodore 
Chauncey  left  Lake  Ontario  temporarily,  his  suc- 
cessor could  have  imitated  the  defensive  policy 
hitherto  pursued  by  the  enemy.  In  the  interest 
of  the  fame  of  Perry,  we  cannot  but  rejoice  that 
Commodore  Chauncey  should  have  declined  re- 


*> 

OLIVER     HAZARD    PEfRKY.  16^ 

pairing  to  Lake  Erie.     Had  he  gone,  it  could  / 
scarcely  have  been   beftfejf  ':69r  %/fr  ^mTf^y-^-^ 
would  have  been  sadly  in  abatemeiitv^pf  the  fame 
of  Perry. 

About  this  time,  a  concentration  of  the  enemy's 
troops  about  Long  Point,  which  lies  opposite  to 
Erie  on  the  Canada  shore,  at  a  distance  of  only 
thirty  miles,  and  the  disappearance  of  the  British 
squadron  in  the  same  direction,  led  to  the  belief 
that  an  attack  on  Erie  was  intended,  with  a  view 
to  the  capture  or  destruction  of  Perry's  squadron 
before  the  arrival  of  his  crews,  and  of  the  military 
stores  collected  at  Erie  to  be  embarked  on  board 
of  the  squadron  for  the  use  of  the  northwestern 
army.     Captain  Perry   called   on  Major-general 
Meade   of  the   militia  for   a   re-enforcement  of 
troops,  and  made  every  necessary  preparation  for 
the  reception  of  the  enemy.     The  officers  were  all 
kept  on  board,  and  boats  rowed  guard  throughout 
the  night.     Great  consternation  prevailed  among 
the  villagers,  who  hastened  to  send  their  families 
and  valuables  to  the  interior.     Perry  acquainted 
the  secretary  of  the  navy  and  the  commodore  with 
the  fact  of  his  being  menaced  with  an  attack,  and 
having  taken  measures  to  repel  it,  assuring  them 
that  he  had  no  fears  for  the  vessels,  even  if  the  en- 
emy should  get  possession  of  the  town,  which  he 
considered  unlikely.     It  was  subsequently  known 
from  Commodore  Barclay  that  an  attack  had,  in 


164  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

fact,  been  at  this  time  contemplated  and  matured, 
but  failed  through  the  want  of  a  sufficient  sus- 
taining force  of  troops  at  the  proper  moment. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  of  July,  Captain  Perry 
received  a  letter  by  express  from  assistant  adju- 
tant-general Holmes,  informing  him,  by  order  of 
General  Harrison,  that  the  enemy  had  invested 
Fort  Meigs  a  second  time  with  a  heavy  force.  He 
stated  that  the  presence  of  the  enemy's  squadron 
off  Erie  was  considered  most  unfortupate,  unless 
Captain  Perry  should  be  able  either  to  fight  or 
elude  it;  and  that  he  was  directed  to  recom- 
mend it,  as  the  general's  opinion,  that  it  should  be 
Captain  Perry's  great  object  to  co-operate  imme- 
diately with  the  army  by  sailing  up  Lake  Erie. 
If  this  co-operation  could  be  effected,  the  enemy 
would  be  compelled  either  to  retreat  precipitately, 
or  suffer  the  ultimate  necessity  of  surrendering. 
The  adjutant-general  concluded  his  letter  as  fol- 
lows :  "  I  feel  great  pleasure  in  conveying  to  you 
an  assurance  of  the  general's  perfect  conviction 
that  no  exertion  will  be  omitted  on  your  part  to 
give  the  crisis  an  issue  of  profit  and  glory  to  the 
arms  of  our  country."* 

*  In  Mr.  Hambleton's  journal  the  following  remark  occurs  on 
the  twenty-seventh  of  July.  "The  first  application  for  men  was  on 
the  twentieth  of  May.  Had  they  been  furnished,  we  might  have 
been  out  several  weeks  ago,  and  the  necessity  of  again  calling 
out  the  militia  at  this  busy  season  would  have  been  avoided. 
The  command  of  the  two  lakes  is  too  extensive  for  any  one  man." 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      165 

Here  was  new  evidence  of  the  importance  at- 
tached to  his  early  co-operation  with  the  north- 
western army,  and  of  the  responsibiUty  which 
weighed  upon  him ;  new  stimulus  to  his  ardent 
desire  to  meet  the  enemy,  and  new  subject  for 
mortification,  that,  while  supposed  everywhere  to 
be  ready  to  act,  and  pressed  on  all  sides  to  put 
forth  on  the  lake,  he  was  yet  unable  to  move  for 
want  of  men.  He  mentioned  to  the  general,  in 
reply,  his  inexpressible  mortification  at  his  deficien- 
cy of  officers  and  men ;  stated  that  he  had,  some 
days  before,  sent  an  express  to  Commodore  Chaun- 
cey,  urging  him  to  send  the  crews  immediately ; 
and  that  he  had  now  forwarded  him  a  copy  of  the 
general's  letter,  accompanied  by  a  still  more  ur- 
gent request  to  the  same  effect. 

His  urgent  letter  to  Commodore  Chauncey  was 
in  the  following  words;  and  it  is  interesting, 
inasmuch  as  it  drew  from  the  commodore  a  re- 
ply which  occasioned  Perry  to  request  to  be  re- 
moved from  Lake  Erie. 

«  Sir, 
"  I  have  this  moment  received  by  express  the 
enclosed  letter  from  General  Harrison.  If  I  had 
officers  and  men,  and  I  have  no  doubt  you  will 
send  them,  I  could  fight  the  enemy,  and  proceed 
up  the  lake.  But,  having  no  one  to  command  the 
Niagara,  and  only  one  commissioned  lieutenant 


166  AMERICAN     BIOGRAPHY. 

and  two  acting  lieutenants,  whatever  my  wishes 
may  be,  going  out  is  out  of  the  question.  The 
men  that  came  by  Mr.  Champhn  are  a  motley  set, 
blacks,  soldiers,  and  boys.  I  cannot  think  you 
saw  them  after  they  were  selected.  I  am,  how- 
ever, pleased  to  see  anything  in  the  shape  of  a 
man." 

On  the  thirtieth  of  July  he  received  from  Lake 
Ontario  an  additional  re-enforcement  of  sixty  of- 
ficers and  men.  Two  days  after  he  opened  a 
rendezvous  for  landsmen,  to  serve  four  months, 
or  until  after  a  decisive  battle,  at  ten  dollars  a 
month.  He  thus  carried  the  total  of  his  force, 
after  landing  the  confirmed  invalids,  to  about  three 
hundred  officers  and  men,  to  man  two  twenty- 
gun  brigs  and  eight  smaller  vessels,  mounting 
together  fifteen  guns,  and  making  an  aggregate 
of  fifty-five  guns.  These  men  were,  moreover, 
in  general,  of  the  most  inferior  description,  con- 
stituting the  refuse  of  all  that  had  arrived  on 
Lake  Ontario;  many  of  them  debilitated  by  re- 
cent disease,  and  more  than  a  fifth  of  them  in- 
capacitated by  fevers  and  dysentery  from  any 
duty.  With  regard  to  officers,  the  above  letter  to 
Commodore  Chauncey  shows  how  deficient  he 
was.  In  fact,  he  stated  to  the  secretary  of  the 
navy,  in  a  letter  of  the  thirtieth  of  July,  that  he 
had  not  sufficient  officers  of  experience  even  to 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  167 

navigate  the  vessels.  Nevertheless,  in  view  of  the 
critical  situation  of  the  northwestern  army,  and  of 
all  that  was  expected  from  him  by  those  who  were 
unacquainted  with  his  deficiencies ;  stimulated  by 
his  impatience  under  the  daily  "  bearding"  of 
Commodore  Barclay,  who  was  almost  perpetually 
in  sight,  with  his  colours  displayed  in  defiance ;  and 
beginning,  perhaps,  to  have  more  doubt  than  he 
had  expressed  that  Commodore  Chauncey  would 
send  him  the  deficient  oflficers  and  men,  he  deter- 
mined to  set  sail  with  those  that  he  had,  and  such 
volunteers  as  he  could  procure  from  the  army,  and 
put  all  to  the  issue  of  a  battle,  which  he  was  es- 
pecially anxious  should  be  fought  before  the  ene- 
my's squadron  should  be  re-enforced  by  his  new 
and  heavy  ship  the  Detroit,  which  had  been 
launched  on  the  seventeenth  of  July,  and  might 
soon  be  expected  to  appear  on  the  lake,  and 
which  would  give  to  the  enemy  a  great  superiori- 
ty in  tonnage  as  well  as  in  number  of  guns. 

In  estimating  the  hardihood  of  Perry's  determi- 
nation to  fight  at  once  with  a  squadron  but  half 
manned  with  the  worst  materials,  and  these  half 
crews  farther  reduced  by  sickness,  we  must  also 
take  into  consideration  that  there  could  have  been 
but  little  leisure  for  exercising  the  guns  or  training 
the  boarders,  pikemen,  sail-triramers,  and  firemen  to 
the  various  duties  essential  to  the  offensive  and  de- 
fensive operations  of  a  naval  engagement.     When 


168  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

the  able-bodied  men  of  the  squadron  were  kept 
working  incessantly  almost  by  day  and  night,  hu- 
manity, as  well  as  the  duty  of  preserving  them  from 
utter  exhaustion,  forbade  any  exertion,  however  es- 
sential, not  connected  with  the  urgent  occupations 
of  the  moment.  Still  opportunity  had  been  found, 
during  the  last  few  days  that  the  squadron  remain- 
ed within  the  harbour  of  Erie,  to  station  the  crews 
carefully  at  quarters,  and  to  give  them  a  general 
idea  of  all  their  duties.  During  several  hours  of 
each  of  these  days  the  men  were  exercised  thor- 
oughly at  the  guns,  and  Perry  went  round  in  per- 
son to  see  that  each  man  understood  his  peculiar 
duty;  that  the  evolutions  for  loading  and  firing 
were  properly  performed ;  the  arrangements  per- 
fect for  passing  powder  without  risk  or  confusion ; 
and  that  the  tubes,  matches,  and  powder-horns 
were  in  readiness  for  service.  The  commander 
who  delegates  these  duties  to  others,  who  fails  to 
attend  in  person  to  whatever  concerns  the  fighting 
department  of  his  vessel,  may  fatally  regret  his 
misplaced  confidence  in  the  hour  of  battle. 


OLIVER    HAZARD     PERRY.  169 


CHAPTER  Vn. 

Rise  of  Naval  Armaments  on  Erie, — Character  of 
the. Lake. — Nature  of  Harbours. — Erie  well  cho- 
sen for  Building  our  Squadron.  —  Difficulty  of 
Crossing  the  Bar,  —  Judicious  Preparations,  — 
Labour  of  getting  the  Lawrence  over,  —  Enemy 
appear  off  the  Harbour,  —  Disappear,  —  Our 
Squadron  on  the  open  Lake. — Prepare  for  Battle, 
— Sail  in  Pursuit. — Return  to  Erie. — Arrival  of 
Re-enf or  cements, — Letter  from  Commodore  Chaun- 
cey,  —  Perry  considers  it  insulting,  —  Tenders 
Resignation  of  his  Command. — Commodore  Chauu' 
cey  promises  Marines. — Reserves  them  for  his  oion 
Ship, — Squadron  sails  for  Sandusky. —  Visit  from 
General  Harrison.  —  Perry  goes  off  Maiden, — 
Offers  Battle. — Anchors  in  Put-in  Bay. — Illness 
of  Perry. — Receives  Re-enforcements. — Recovers, 
—  Visits  Maiden  and  Sandusky.  —  Reproachful 
Letter  from  Secretary, — Perrfs  Defence, 

Lake  Erie,  about  to  become  the  scene  of  great 
national  events,  had  hitherto  been  only  navigated 
by  our  countrymen  in  pursuit  of  commerce.  The 
canoe  of  the  savage  or  the  hght  bark  of  the 
trader  had  almost  alone  traversed  its  hitherto 
peaceful  surface.  But  now  war  was  to  visit  it, 
and  the  solitudes  of  nature,  as  yet  accustomed 
P 


170  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

only  to  reverberate  the  thunders  of  Heaven,  were 
to  be  disturbed  by  the  more  terrible  engines  of  hu- 
man wrath.  The  American  Fur  Company  had, 
in  recent  years,  constructed  one  or  two  vessels  for 
the  purpose  of  transporting  the  articles  which  it 
trafficked  with  the  Indians  for  peltries  to  the  head 
of  navigation  at  the  upper  lakes,  and  bringing 
down  its  valuable  returns.  These  vessels  had  a 
slight  armament.  The  Northwestern  Company, 
on  the  other  side  of  the  lake,  had  also  armed  ves- 
sels of  considerable  size.  More  recently,  the  Brit- 
ish government  had  built  several  vessels,  especial- 
ly intended  for  cruisers,  to  give  them  the  command 
of  the  lake  in  the  event  of  a  war  with  the  United 
States.  The  Queen  Charlotte  had  been  built  with 
this  view  as  early  as  1808,  and  some  of  the  small 
vessels  at  an  earlier  period.  These  vessels  were 
originally  manned  with  provincial  seamen,  and 
officered  likewise  by  provincials  belonging  to  a 
special  corps  disconnected  from  the  royal  navy. 
They  had  cruised  a  good  deal  on  the  lake,  were 
familiar  with  its  coasts,  and  practised  in  the  man- 
agement of  their  vessels.  In  several  triffing  en- 
counters, and  particularly  in  annoying  General 
Hull's  army  while  in  Canada,  this  provincial  force 
had  exhibited  great  skill  and  enterprise. 

With  regard  to  this  new  arena  of  naval  war- 
fare almost  in  the  heart  of  the  wilderness,  it  may  be 
well  briefly  to  state  that  the  lake  is  about  two  hun- 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  171 

dred  and  eighty  miles  long  from  the  outlet  of  the 
Miami  to  the  Falls  of  Niagara,  with  a  breadth  vary- 
ing from  fifteen  to  sixty  miles,  and  a  depth  scarce- 
ly anywhere  exceeding  twenty  fathoms.    Its  shores 
are  generally  sandy  or  rock-bound,  and  there- 
fore dangerous  to  the  navigator.     On  the  northern 
shore,  the  extraordinary  course  of  the  Thames  Riv- 
er, running  nearly  parallel  to  the  course  of  the 
lake,  at  no  great  distance  and  in  the  contrary  direc- 
tion to  its  current,  cuts  off  all  the  streams,  and  ac- 
counts for  the  almost  total  absence  on  that  side  of 
inlets  and  harbours.    On  the  American  side  the  har- 
bours are  more  numerous,  but  all  of  them  have 
bars  except  that  of  Put-in  Bay  in  the  Bass  Islands, 
which  is  accessible  for  vessels  drawing  twelve  feet. 
At  the  mouth  of  the  Sandusky  there  w^as  a  pretty 
good  harbour,  but  that  at  Erie  was  much  better.    Its 
comparative  proximity,  moreover,  to  the  populous 
portion  of  Pennsylvania,  and  especially  the  great 
manufacturing  town  of  Pittsburg,  between  which 
and  the  neighbourhood  of  Erie  there  was  an  al- 
most uninterrupted,  though  tedious,  water  commu- 
nication by  the  Alleghany  and  its  tributaries,  gave 
it  great  advantages  for  the  equipment  of  a  naval 
force.     Besides,  being  situated  towards  the  centre 
of  the  lake,  which  became  broad  at  that  point,  it 
rendered  the  squadron  less  exposed  there  to  a  sur- 
prise and  destruction  by  the  enemy  than  it  would 
have  been  at  Buffalo,  which,  in  fact,  was  taken 


172  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

and  burned  in  the  course  of  the  war.  Buffalo,  too, 
at  that  time  had  no  good  harbour,  that  which  now 
exists  there  being  almost  entirely  a  work  of  art. 
Erie,  on  the  contrary,  had  a  beautiful  natural  har- 
bour, consisting  of  a  bay,  very  narrow  at  the  en- 
trance, but  expanding  into  a  spacious  sheet  of  wa- 
ter within.  This  bay  is  formed  by  a  peninsula, 
extending  in  the  form  of  a  crab's  claw  in  a  north- 
easterly direction  along  the  shore  of  the  lake. 
From  this  remarkable  point  of  land,  the  place  had 
received  from  the  French  its  previous  name  of 
Presquisle.  Across  the  mouth  there  was  a  bar, 
extending  lakeward  upward  of  a  mile,  and  vary- 
ing in  depth  in  the  channel  from  six  feet  at  the 
shoalest  part  to  ten  feet.  The  shoal,  being  formed 
of  light  sand,  was  liable  to  be  affected  by  gales  of 
wind,  which  occasioned  it  frequently  to  vary,  and 
sometimes  reduced  the  depth  as  low  as  five  and 
even  four  feet. 

This  bar,  being  too  shoal  for  the  enemy  to  cross 
it  with  his  vessels  equipped  and  armed,  had  offer- 
ed great  protection  to  our  squadron  from  attack 
during  its  construction  and  equipment.  Now, 
however,  that  the  squadron  was  ready  to  sail,  it  be- 
came a  serious  impediment,  inasmuch  as  it  would 
be  indispensable  to  raise  the  two  brigs  bodily  at 
least  four  feet  higher  than  their  usual  draught 
of  nine  feet,  in  order  to  enable  them  to  pass  the 
bar.    This,  of  course,  could  only  be  done  by  the 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  173 

removal  of  their  armament,  and  in  smooth  water ; 
and  as  it  was  within  the  option  of  the  enemy's 
commander  then  blockading  the  port,  as  it  was 
surely  his  interest,  to  attack  om*  squadron  at  dis- 
advantage while  engaged  in  crossing  the  bar,  par- 
tially divested  of  its  armament,  and  in  the  per- 
plexity and  embarrassment  of  laborious  efforts  un- 
favourable to  defence.  Captain  Perry  surely  expect- 
ed to  be  engaged  by  the  enemy  while  in  the  act 
of  removing  his  vessels  to  the  open  lake.  That 
he  did  so  is  evident  from  the  conclusion  of  a  let- 
ter to  the  secretary  of  the  navy,  dated  on  the 
twenty-seventh  of  July,  in  which  he  says,  "  We 
are  ready  to  sail  the  instant  officers  and  men  ar- 
rive ;  and,  as  the  enemy  appear  determined  to 
dispute  the  passage  of  the  bar  with  us,  the  ques- 
tion as  to  the  command  of  the  lake  will  soon  be 
decided." 

The  measures  adopted  by  Captain  Perry  in  meet- 
ing this  trying  and  dangerous  emergency  were  of 
the  most  judicious  character,  and  equally  credita- 
ble to  his  distinguished  skill  as  a  seaman,  and 
to  his  military  genius  and  hardihood.  Two  large 
camels,  or  scows,  of  sufficient  capacity  to  displace 
a  given  quantity  of  water,  and  Hft  the  brigs  four 
feet  after  the  removal  of  their  armament,  had  been 
previously  constructed  by  Mr.  Brown,  to  fit  exactly 
the  shape  of  the  brigs,  and,  enclosing  them  at  the 
bow  and  stern,  to  meet  towards  the  centre.  A 
P2 


174  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

water^battery  of  three  long  twelves  had  also  been 
mounted  on  the  beach,  opposite  the  shoalest  part 
of  the  bar,  to  assist  in  the  protection  of  the  ves- 
sels while  in  the  act  of  crossing. 

Meantime,  the  enemy  continued  in  the  offing, 
displaying  his  colours,  with  a  commodore's  broad 
pendant  at  the  main  of  the  Queen  Charlotte; 
from  which  it  appears  that  our  opponents,  though 
so  far  from  the  scene  of  action,  were  not  guilty 
of  the  absurdity  of  making  their  commander  on 
Lake  Erie  wholly  subordinate  to  the  command- 
er on  Lake  Ontario.  On  the  second  of  August 
Commodore  Barclay  suddenly  withdrew  his  ves- 
sels, and  stood  out  of  sight  in  the  direction  of  the 
Canada  shore.  They  were  still  absent  on  the 
morning  of  Sunday,  the  first  of  August,  when 
the  commodore  weighed  with  eight  of  his  squad- 
ron, and  beat  down  to  near  the  bar  in  readiness 
for  crossing.  About  to  undertake  wdth  such  slen- 
der means  an  object  of  so  much  national  import- 
ance, Perry,  who  had  ever  a  deep  sense  of  our  de- 
pendance  on  a  controlling  and  overruling  Provi- 
dence, now  invoked  protection  and  aid  from  the 
God  of  battles.  A  clergyman,  whose  ministration 
he  had  attended  on  shore,  came  off  by  invitation 
to  the  Lawrence ;  and,  the  officers  of  the  squadron 
being  assembled,  the  banner  of  the  cross  was  rais- 
ed high  above  the  ensign,  and  the  sacred  offices 
commenced.    The  man  of  God  plead  devoutly  for 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  175 

the  triumph  of  our  just  cause ;  for  our  success  in 
wresting  the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife  from 
savage  hands,  and  subduing  the  ruthless  foe  who 
had  encouraged  and  armed  them  for  the  slaugh- 
ter. He  then,  in  an  appropriate  address,  set  forth 
all  the  motives  of  humanity,  of  patriotism,  of  what 
depended  on  them  for  the  rescuing  of  outraged  al- 
tars and  the  diffusion  of  Christianity,  and  bade 
them  go  forth  conquering  and  to  conquer.  The 
feehngs  of  all  were  affected  and  elevated  by  the 
solemn  rites,  and  the  contemplative  mind  of  Perry 
seemed  confirmed  in  its  calm  and  steadfast  enthu- 
siasm. 

In  the  afternoon  Major-general  Mead,  of  the 
militia,  who  had  lent  all  the  aid  in  his  power  in 
the  defence  and  equipment  of  the  squadron,  visit- 
ed the  Lawrence  with  his  suite,  and  was  received 
with  a  salute  of  fifteen  guns.  Throughout  the  day 
a  great  concourse  of  people  from  the  neighbouring 
country,  scarcely  any  of  whom  had  ever  before 
seen  a  square-rigged  vessel,  lined  the  shore  of  the 
lake,  filled  with  astonishment  at  the  strangeness 
of  the  spectacle. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  Monday  the  second, 
Perry  ordered  five  of  the  small  vessels  to  cross  the 
bar,  anchor  without  it,  and  clear  for  action ;  the 
sixth,  with  the  Niagara,  to  anchor  one  on  each  side 
of  the  channel  close  within  the  bar,  and  spring 
their  broadsides  lakeward,  in  readiness  to  open  on 


176  AMERICAN     BIOGRAPHY. 

the  enemy,  should  they  appear,  and  cover  the  pas- 
sage of  the  Lawrence.  The  vessels  had  been  tow- 
ed to  the  bar,  when,  to  the  great  annoyance  of 
Captain  Perry,  he  found  that  the  lake  was  consid- 
erably below  its  usual  level ;  that  there  was  only 
four  feet  water  on  the  bar  instead  of  six,  and  that 
it  w^ould  be  necessary  to  lighten  even  the  small 
vessels  to  get  them  over.  Still,  the  smoothness 
of  the  lake  and  the  absence  of  the  enemy  in- 
duced him  to  proceed.  While  the  small  vessels 
were  getting  over,  the  guns  of  the  Lawrence, 
with  the  exception  of  one  or  two  to  assist  in  her 
defence,  were  hoisted  out,  wuth  their  charges 
in  them,  and  placed  in  boats,  which  were  drop- 
ped astern.  The  camels  were  then  got  along- 
side, and  th£  water  allowed  to  run  into  them  until 
their  tops  were  nearly  level  with  the  surface.  The 
camels  were  then  lashed  together,  and  solid  blocks 
arranged  on  top  of  them,  so  as  to  reach  the  ends 
of  stout  spars  which  had  been  laid  across  the 
Lawrence  through  her  ports,  and  securely  lashed 
down  to  the  frame  of  the  vessel.  This  being  ar- 
ranged, the  pumps  were  set  at  work  in  the  scows, 
which  raised  gradually,  lifting  the  brig -with  them 
as  the  water  was  discharged.  In  this  way  the 
Lawrence  was  lifted  three  feet,  which,  with  what 
she  had  raised  on  the  removal  of  her  armament, 
reduced  her  draught  to  about  four  feet.  When  she 
got  on  the  shoalest  part  of  the  bar,  however,  it 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  177 

was  found  that  the  water  had  still  shoalened,  and 
that  it  was  impossible  to  force  her  over,  notwith- 
standing every  exertion  that  could  be  made  by- 
heaving  on  the  cables  and  anchors  which  had 
been  carried  out.  The  Lawrence  had  settled  a 
little  from  the  slacking  of  the  lashings  and  giving 
way  of  one  of  the  spars  which  passed  from  camel 
to  camel.  It  became,  therefore,  indispensable  to 
sink  the  camels  again,  get  additional  blocks  be- 
tween them  and  the  cross-pieces,  and  replace  the 
broken  one.  This  expedient  was  resorted  to  to- 
wards nightfall ;  a  few  inches  diminution  of  the 
Lawrence's  draught  was  thus  gained,  and  she  was 
slowly  and  by  main  strength  hove  across  the  bar 
in  the  course  of  that  night  and  the  following  day. 
In  this  laborious  service  efficient  aid  was  received 
from  the  militia  of  the  neighbourhood,  under  the 
orders  of  General  David  Mead. 

Daylight  of  the  fourth  of  August  found  the  Law- 
rence's crew,  with  most  of  those  of  the  other  ves- 
sels, still  hard  at  work.  She  got  fairly  afloat  at 
eight  o'clock,  and  her  guns  were  quickly  mount- 
ed, and  everything  prepared  for  action.  The  Ni- 
agara was  got  over  more  easily  on  the  following 
day ;  but  was  still  on  the  bar  when  the  enemy 
appeared  in  the  offing,  standing  in  wath  a  leading 
breeze.  Encouraged  by  their  young  commander, 
and  excited  by  his  appeals  to  their  pride  and  pa- 
triotism, the  exhausted  seamen  rallied  to  the  call, 


178  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

and,  by  unparalleled  exertions,  the  Niagara  was 
in  deep  water  at  eleven  o'clock.  To  gain  time 
while  engaged  in  the  task  of  mounting  her  bat- 
tery. Perry  now  gave  orders  to  Lieutenant  Pack- 
ett,  of  the  Ariel,  and  sailing-master  Champlain,  of 
the  Scorpion,  both  their  vessels  being  fast-sailing 
schooners,  to  weigh  anchor  and  stand  out  towards 
the  enemy,  and  annoy  him  with  their  heavy  guns 
at  long  shot.  These  officers  obeyed  instantly,  and 
dashed  directly  at  the  enemy,  and  opened  a  fire 
on  him  in  the  most  gallant  manner.  Meantime 
the  Lawrence  remained  at  anchor,  and  the  people 
being  at  quarters,  commenced  exercising  the 
guns,  when  it  became  apparent  that  they  were  not 
yet  to  be  called  on  to  use  them  in  earnest.  It 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  Commodore  Bar- 
clay's intention  to  take  advantage  of  the  critical 
situation  of  our  squadron  in  crossing  the  bar  to 
bring  on  an  engagement,  as  Captain  Perry  had 
expected.  If  it  had  been,  he  would  hardly  have 
been  turned  from  his  purpose  by  this  slight,  though 
well-timed  and  well-executed  demonstration,  nor 
yet  by  the  judicious  and  admirable  disposition 
which  Captain  Perry  had  made  to  cover  the  in- 
evitable weakness  of  his  position  while  crossing 
the  bar.  His  motive  for  neglecting  this  favour- 
able opportunity  for  attack  was  doubtless  the  cer- 
tainty which  he  felt  that  in  a  fortnight  he  should 
have  the  co-operation  of  his  heavy  ship  the  De- 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      179 

troit,  which  would  give  him,  in  every  respect,  a 
decided  superiority.  Whatever  may  have  been 
his  motives,  and  they  were  no  doubt  worthy  of  a 
brave  man,  after  a  short  cannonade  with  the  two 
schooners,  he  bore  up  with  his  squadron,  and  stood 
across  the  lake  in  the  direction  of  Long  Point.* 

In  the  midst  of  these  anxious  operations.  Cap- 
tain Perry  had  received  another  urgent  letter  from 
General  Harrison,  inviting  the  early  co-operation 
of  his  squadron.  He  instantly  replied  to  it  in  the 
following  words :  "  I  have  had  the  honour  to  re- 
ceive your  letter  of  the  twenty-eighth  of  July  this 
morning,  and  hasten,  in  reply,  to  inform  you  that  I 
have  succeeded  in  getting  one  of  the  sloops-of-war 
over  the  bar.  The  other  will  probably  be  over  to- 
day or  to-morrow.  The  enemy  is  now  standing  for 
us  with  five  sail.     We  have  seven  over  the  bar ; 

*  Perry  was  subsequently  consulted  by  the  navy  department 
as  to  the  practicability  of  deepening  the  bar  of  Erie,  and  gave 
his  opinion  in  favour  of  it.  The  project  has  since  been  success- 
fully effected  by  sinking  piers  on  each  side  of  the  channel  so 
as  to  narrow  it ;  and  the  action  of  the  wind  in  driving  in  the 
water  has,  with  the  aid  of  a  dredging  machine,  so  far  removed 
the  sand-bar  as  to  deepen  the  channel  to  nine  feet.  The  gov- 
ernment has,  moreover,  recently  shown  an  enlightened  sense  of 
the  value  of  this  port,  for  commercial  as  well  as  for  warlike  pur- 
poses, by  cutting  through  the  tongue  of  the  peninsula  at  the 
western  extremity  of  the  bay,  so  as  to  make  a  passage  in  that 
direction  for  vessels  bound  up  the  lake,  which  might  otherwise 
remain  wind-bound  when  the  wind  was  fair  to  make  their  pas- 
sage if  without  the  harbour. 


180  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

all  small,  however,  except  the  Lawrence.  I  am  of 
opinion  that  in  two  days  the  naval  superiority  will 
be  decided  on  this  lake.  Should  we  be  successful, 
I  shall  sail  for  the  head  of  the  lake  immediately  to 
co-operate  with  you,  and  hope  that  our  joint  efforts 
will  be  productive  of  honour  and  advantage  to  our 
country.  The  squadron  is  not  much  more  than  half 
manned ;  but,  as  I  see  no  prospect  of  receiving  re- 
enforcements,  I  have  determined  to  commence  my 
operations.  I  have  requested  Captain  Richard- 
son* to  despatch  an  express  to  you  the  moment 
the  issue  of  our  contest  with  the  enemy  is  known. 
My  anxiety  to  join  you  is  very  great,  and,  had 
seamen  been  sent  to  me  in  time,  I  should  now,  in 
all  probability,  have  been  at  the  head  of  the  lake, 
acting  in  conjunction  with  you."  In  a  postscript 
he  adds,  "  Thank  God,  the  other  sloop-of-war  is 
over.  I  shall  be  after  the  enemy,  who  is  now 
making  oif,  in  a  few  hours.  I  shall  be  with  you 
shortly." 

During  the  remainder  of  the  fifth  of  August  and 
the  whole  of  the  following  night,  the  crews  of  the 
different  vessels  were  busily  engaged  in  getting  on 
board  and  distributing  a  few  necessary  stores,  re- 
ceiving volunteers  from  the  militia,  and  preparing 

*  Deputy-commissary  of  ordnance  of  the  northwestern  army. 
He  had  been  sent  to  Erie  to  receive  some  ordnance  stores  to  be 
embarked  in  the  squadron  for  the  use  of  the  army.  While  get- 
ting the  vessels  over  the  bar  he  commanded  the  battery  on  the 
beach. 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  181 

the  vessels  for  sailing  and  for  battle.  At  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  sixth,  the  signal  was 
made  for  the  squadron  to  weigh  anchor,  and  at 
four  the  vessels  were  all  under  sail,  standing  for 
Long  Point,  the  direction  in  which  the  enemy  had 
been  last  seen.  The  earnest  desire  of  Perry  to 
meet  the  enemy  may  be  judged  from  his  indefati- 
gable and  unceasing  efforts  to  get  his  vessels  over 
the  bar,  to  prepare  them  for  battle,  and  go  in  pur- 
suit of  the  enemy.  His  ardour  was  warmly  shared 
by  his  officers  and  men.  From  daylight  on  the 
second  to  the  fourth  of  August,  Perry,  though  in 
weak  health,  had  not  closed  his  eyes,  and  not  an 
officer  or  man  in  that  squadron  had  enjoyed  a  mo- 
ment's rest,  except  such  as  could  be  snatched  upon 
deck.  During  the  search  for  the  enemy  the  ves- 
sels were  cleared  for  action,  and  there  could  have 
been  little  opportunity  for  repose.  After  an  inef- 
fectual pursuit  of  twenty-four  hours,  the  enemy 
having,  as  it  afterward  proved,  proceeded  to  Mai- 
den, at  the  head  of  the  lake,  the  squadron  returned 
to  its  anchorage  off  Erie,  having  barely  been  able 
to  fetch  that  place.  Had  the  wind  favoured,  the 
commodore  intended  to  have  followed  the  enemy 
to  the  head  of  the  lake.* 

*  The  following  is  the  list  of  the  vessels  and  their  command- 
ers on  this  cruise  :  Lawrence,  Captain  Perry  ;  Niagara,  Lieu- 
tenant D.  Turner ;  brig  Caledonia,  commanded  by  Purser  H. 
Magrath ;  pilot-boat  schooner  Ariel^  Lieutenant  L  Packett ; 

Q 


182  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

The  seventh  and  eighth  of  August  were  era- 
ployed  in  fining  up  with  provisions,  and  receiv- 
ing the  mihtary  stores  for  the  army  of  General 
Harrison.  It  was  the  intention  of  Captain  Perry 
to  have  put  to  sea  on  the  evening  of  the  eighth,  on 
his  way  up  the  lake ;  but  in  the  course  of  the  day 
he  received  an  express  from  Lieutenant  Elliott, 
dated  at  Cattaraugus,  sixty  miles  lower  down  the 
lake,  informing  Captain  Perry  that  he  had  reached 
that  place  on  his  way  to  join  the  squadron  and 
take  the  command  of  the  Niagara,  together  with 
two  acting  heutenants,  eight  midshipmen,  a  mas- 
ter-mate, a  clerk,  and  eighty-nine  men,  making  a 
re-enforcement  of  one  hundred  and  two  souls  in 
all* 

schooners  Scorpion,  Sailing-master  S.  Champlain ;  Somers, 
Sailing-master  Almy ;  Tigress,  Master's  Mate  A.  Macdonald ; 
Porcupine,  Midshipman  George  Senat.  The  Amelia,  Ohio,  and 
Trippe  were  left  behind  for  want  of  crews. 

*  Mr.  Cooper  says,  p.  359,  there  were  eleven  officers  and  one 
hundred  men.  There  were  only  eighty-nine  men.  On  the  pre- 
vious page  he  says,  that  Commodore  Chauncey,  soon  after  the 
third  of  July,  felt  himself  strong  enough  to  send  one  hundred 
and  thirty  men,  with  the  necessary  officers,  to  the  upper  lakes. 
There  were  eight  officers  and  only  one  hundred  and  twenty- two 
men.  Thus,  in  both  instances,  the  number  of  men  sent  by 
Commodore  Chauncey  to  Captain  Perry  is  overstated  by  Mr. 
Cooper.  Mr.  Cooper  misdates  the  appearance  of  the  English 
squadron  off  the  bar  and  the  sailing  of  ours.  These  events  took 
place  on  the  fifth  and  sixth  of  August  respectively,  instead  of 
the  fourth  and  fifth,  as  stated  by  him.  He  subsequently  states 
that  the  American  squadron  sailed  from  Erie  for  Sandusky  oa 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  183 

This  pleasing  announcement  is  thus  noticed  in 
Mr.  Hambleton's  journal,  and  is  interesting  as  giv- 
ing a  lively  picture  of  the  position  and  feelings  of 
Perry.  "  Went  on  shore  and  transacted  a  variety 
of  business;  paid  off  the  volunteers,  so  that  we 
have  none  but  the  four  months'  men  who  signed 
articles.  Captain  Perry  has  just  received  a  letter 
from  General  Harrison,  informing  him  of  the  rais- 
ing of  the  siege  of  Camp  Meigs,  and  of  the  unsuc- 
cessful attack  on  the  fort  at  Sandusky,  command- 
ed by  Lieutenant  Craughan.  The  prisoners  taken 
there  state  that  the  new  ship  Detroit  was  launched 
at  Maiden  on  the  seventeenth  of  last  month.  Cap- 
tain Perry  and  I  dined  on  shore.  After  dinner, 
being  alone,  we  had  a  long  conversation  on  the 
state  of  our  affairs.  He  confessed  that  he  was 
now  much  at  a  loss  what  to  do.  While  he  feels 
the  danger  of  delay,  he  is  not  insensible  to  the 
hazard  of  encountering  an  enemy  without  due 
preparation.  His  officers  are  few  and  inexperi- 
enced, and  we  are  short  of  seamen.  His  repeated 
and  urgent  requests  for  men  having  been  treated 
with  the  most  mortifying  neglect,  he  dechnes  ma- 

the  eighteenth  of  August,  when  it  sailed  on  the  twelfth.  He 
states  previously  that  "  it  was  near  the  end  of  June"  before 
Perry  sailed  from  Buffalo  for  Erie  with  the  five  small  vessels, 
whereas  he  sailed  from  Buffalo  on  the  fourteenth,  and  arrived  at 
Erie  on  the  eighteenth  of  June.  These  errors  are  corrected,  as 
dates  are  considered  material  in  history. 


184  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

king  another.  While  thus  engaged,  a  midshipman, 
Mr.  J.  B.  Montgomery,  entered  and  handed  him  a 
letter.  It  was  from  Lieutenant  ElUott,  on  his  way 
to  join  him  with  several  officers  and  eighty-nine 
seamen.  He  was  electrified  by  this  news,  and,  as 
soon  as  we  were  alone,  declared  he  had  not  been 
so  happy  since  his  arrival." 

The  commodore  immediately  repaired  on  board 
the  Lawrence,  and  despatched  the  Ariel  to  run  the 
coast  down  tow^ards  Cattaraugus,  and  bring  up 
Lieutenant  Elliott  and  his  party.  They  arrived 
on  the  tenth  of  August,  and  the  men  proved 
to  be  of  a  very  superior  character  to  those  which 
had  been  hitherto  sent;  their  arrival  and  their 
superior  character  being  both  in  no  small  degree 
attributable  to  the  more  urgent  request  of  Cap- 
tain Perry,  and  his  complaints  as  to  the  character 
of  those  that  were  sent,  which,  though  producing 
irritation  in  the  mind  of  Commodore  Chauncey,  had 
also  been  attended  with  this  salutary  result. 

The  men  brought  up  by  Lieutenant  Elliott  are 
represented,  indeed,  as  having  been  "  prime  men," 
the  first  draught  of  that  character  which  had  yet 
been  received  on  Lake  Erie.  This  officer,  who, 
soon  after,  received  his  commission  as  a  master- 
commandant,  derived  the  chief  benefit  from  this 
valuable  accession  of  seamen.  The  crew  of  the 
Lawrence  being  more  nearly  complete  in  num- 
bers, though  she  had  a  large  number  of  sick,  than 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  185 

that  of  the  Niagara,  the  greater  part  of  the  new 
draught  was  taken  on  board  of  the  Niagara.  Sail- 
ing-master Taylor,  of  the  Lawrence,  happened  to 
be  on  board  of  that  vessel  when  Lieutenant  El- 
liott took  command  of  her,  and  remarked  that, 
as  the  men  arrived  alongside  of  her,  Lieutenant  El- 
liott called  from  the  boats  the  men  previously 
designated  for  the  different  stations  of  importance 
on  board  of  his  vessel.  He  thus  assumed  to  him- 
self a  right  of  selection  among  the  men,  whose  rel- 
ative merits  were  well  known  to  him,  and  the 
residue,  after  being  thus  gleaned  by  him,  was  dis- 
tributed among  the  other  vessels.  This  induced 
Mr.  Taylor,  who,  being  a  thorough  seaman  him- 
self, was  well  calculated  to  appreciate  the  value 
of  seamanship  in  others,  and  who  was  personally 
interested  in  seeing  a  fair  share  of  good  men  on 
board  the  vessel  to  which  he  belonged,  to  remark 
to  his  commander,  that  the  different  vessels  of  the 
squadron  were  very  unequally  manned,  in  conse- 
quence of  so  great  a  proportion  of  the  effective 
men  being  engrossed  by  the  Niagara.  With  the 
same  magnanimity  which  he  had  used  on  a  former 
occasion  towards  Captain  Morris — a  magnanimity 
most  unusual  in  the  service,  and  which  strongly 
contrasted  with  the  coui-se  which  Commodore 
Chauncey  had  pursued  towards  him — Captain  Per- 
ry took  no  notice  of  the  discourtesy  shown  to  him, 
as  the  commanding  officer,  in  this  unauthorized 
Q2 


186  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

selection,  and  no  steps  to  equalize  the  effective 
force  of  the  vessel  under  his  command,  which  was 
to  bear  the  brunt  and  burden  of  the  day  in  his 
country's  battle,  with  that  of  his  junior  officer. 

This  acceptable  re-enforcement  of  effective  men, 
due,  in  no  inconsiderable  degree,  to  the  urgent  re- 
monstrances of  Captain  Perry,  was  accompanied 
by  a  letter,  which  betrayed  great  irritation  on  the 
part  of  the  commodore,  and  was  well  suited  to 
irritate  and  wound  the  person  to  whom  it  was  ad- 
dressed. It  was  dated  on  board  the  Pike,  off  Bur- 
lington Bay,  on  the  thirteenth  of  July ;  and,  in- 
stead of  being  directed,  as  was  the  custom  of  the 
commodore,  "  to  Captain  Perry,  senior  naval  offi- 
cer at  Lake  Erie,"  it  was  simply,  "  commanding 
the  U.  S.  brig  Lawrence."     It  ran  as  follows: 

"Sir, 
"  I  have  been  duly  honoured  with  your  letters 
of  the  twenty-third  and  twenty-sixth  ultimo,  and 
notice  your  anxiety  for  men  and  officers.  I  am 
equally  anxious  to  furnish  you,  and  no  time  shall 
be  lost  in  sending  officers  and  men  to  you,  as  soon 
as  the  public  service  will  allow  me  to  send  them 
from  this  lake.  I  regret  that  you  are  not  pleased 
with  the  men  sent  you  by  Messrs.  Champlin  and 
Forrest ;  for,  to  my  knowledge,  a  part  of  them  are 
not  surpassed  by  any  seamen  we  have  in  the  fleet ; 
and  I  have  yet  to  learn  that  the  colour  of  the 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  187 

skin,  or  the  cut  and  trimmings  of  the  coat,  can 
affect  a  man's  qualifications  or  usefulness.  I  have 
nearly  fifty  blacks  on  board  of  this  ship,  and  many 
of  them  are  among  my  best  men ;  and  those  people 
you  call  soldiers  have  been  to  sea  from  two  to 
seventeen  years,  and  I  presume  that  you  will  find 
them  as  good  and  useful  as  any  men  on  board  of 
your  vessel,  at  least  if  I  can  judge  by  comparison, 
for  those  which  we  have  on  board  of  this  ship  are 
attentive  and  obedient,  and,  as  far  as  I  can  judge, 
many  of  them  excellent  seamen ;  at  any  rate,  the 
men  sent  to  Lake  Erie  have  been  selected  with  a 
view  of  sending  a  fair  proportion  of  petty  officers 
and  seamen,  and  I  presume,  upon  examination,  it 
will  be  found  that  they  are  equal  to  those  upon 
this  lake. 

"  I  have  received  several  letters  from  the  secre- 
tary of  the  navy,  urging  the  necessity  of  the  naval 
force  upon  Lake  Erie  acting  immediately.  You 
will  therefore,  as  soon  as  you  receive  a  sufficient 
number  of  men,  commence  your  operations  against 
the  enemy,  and,  as  soon  as  possible,  co-operate 
with  the  army  under  General  Harrison.  As  you 
have  assured  the  secretary  that  you  should  con- 
ceive yourself  equal  or  superior  to  the  enemy  with 
a  force  in  men  so  much  less  than  I  had  deemed 
necessary,  there  will  be  a  great  deal  expected 
from  you  by  your  country,  and  I  trust  they  will 
not  be  disappointed  in  the  high  expectations  form- 


188  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

ed  of  your  gallantry  and  judgment.  I  will  barely 
make  an  observation,  which  was  impressed  upon 
my  mind  by  an  old  soldier,  that  is, '  Never  despise 
your  enemy.'  I  was  mortified  to  see,  by  your  let- 
ters to  the  secretar}-,  extracts  and  copies  of  which 
have  been  forwarded  to  me,  that  you  complain 
that  the  distance  was  so  great  between  Sackett's 
Harbour  and  Erie  that  you  could  not  get  instruc- 
tions from  me  in  time  to  execute  with  any  ad- 
vantage to  the  service,  thereby  intimating  the  ne- 
cessity of  a  separate  command.  Would  it  not 
have  been  as  well  to  have  made  the  complaint  to 
me  instead  of  the  secretary  ? 

"  My  confidence  in  your  zeal  and  abilities  is  un- 
diminished, and  I  sincerely  hope  that  your  success 
may  equal  your  utmost  wishes.  I  shall  despatch 
to  you  some  officers  and  seamen  and  farther  in- 
structions on  my  return  to  Niagara,  where  I  hope 
to  be  the  day  after  to-morrow." 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  commodore  does  not  dis- 
tinctly assert  that  the  men  sent  to  Lake  Erie  were 
equal  to  those  whom  he  had  retained.  He  only 
presumes  that,  upon  examination,  they  will  be 
found  to  be  equal.  A  part  of  them,  he  says,  to 
his  knowledge,  were  not  surpassed  by  any  seamen 
in  his  fleet.  The  commodore  could  not  have  haz- 
arded an  unqualified  assertion.  All  the  officers  on 
Lake  Erie  unite  in  pronouncing  the  men  sent  to 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  189 

that  lake  by  Commodore  Chauncey  as  having 
been  the  most  wretched  selection  that  could  have 
been  made;  while  it  is  equally  notorious  in  the 
service,  notwithstanding  what  Mr.  Cooper  says  in 
exculpation  of  Commodore  Chauncey,  as  to  the 
generally  inferior  character  of  the  seamen  on  all 
the  lakes,  that  there  were  on  Lake  Ontario  a  large 
proportion  of  as  good  seamen  as  ever  trod  a  ship's 
deck;  the  genuine  long  queues  abounded  there. 
Commodore  Chauncey,  a  thorough  seaman  him- 
self, had  a  passion  for  the  collection  about  him  of 
all  the  most  finished  specimens  of  the  true  man-of- 
war's-men  that  could  be  found  ;  and,  unfortunate- 
ly, the  gratification  of  this  taste  was  brought  into 
collision  with  the  obligations  of  duty,  as  well  as 
the  sense  of  magnanimity  which  rendered  it  in- 
cumbent upon  him  to  send  to  a  junior  ofl&cer  a  full 
and  fair  share  of  seamen  for  the  execution  of  an 
important  trust,  and  to  send  them  in  season.  The 
consciousness  that  he  had  not  done  this,  led  him  to 
receive  with  greater  irritation  Captain  Perry's  let- 
ter of  complaint,  and  prompted  the  irony  and  sar- 
casm of  his  reply. 

The  following  extract  from  Mr.  Harableton's 
journal  is  amply  confirmatory  of  what  we  have 
said  with  regard  to  the  detention  on  I^ake  Ontario. 
Several  officers  who  served  on  Lake  Ontario  con- 
firm the  account  of  the  extraordinary  number  of 
men,  exactly  double  what  were  necessary,  whom 


190  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

the  commodore  had  continued  to  crowd  together 
on  board  the  Pike.  "  Several  weeks  ago,  the  sec- 
retary of  the  navy  informed  Captain  Perry  that  a 
sufficient  number  for  both  lakes  had  been  forward- 
ed. This  is  true;  but,  unfortunately,  they  were 
all  sent  to  Lake  Ontario,  where  our  portion  was 
detained  without  necessity.  For  instance,  the 
Pike,  with  a  single  deck  and  twenty-six  guns, 
had  four  hundred  men,  most  of  them  prime  sea- 
men, mustering  in  all  four  hundred  and  seventy  ; 
and  even  now  he  has  not  sent  a  single  officer  of 
rank  or  experience  except  Captain  Elliott."* 

With  the  feeling  of  an  old  officer  addressing  his 
inferior  in  rank  and  age,  the  commodore  may  have 
thought  that  the  commendatory  phrase  which 
closed  his  letter  would  have  qualified  the  bitter- 
ness of  his  rebuke ;  but  the  patience  and  amiabil- 
ity of  Perry  was  coupled  with  extreme  sensitive- 
ness to  whatever  affected  his  honour.  On  the  very 
day  that  he  received  the  commodore's  letter,  he 
enclosed  a  copy  of  it  to  the  secretary  of  the  navy, 
earnestly  requesting  that  he  might  be  removed 
from  his  present  station.  Mr.  Cooper  has  incor- 
rectly placed  Captain  Perry's  application  for  remo- 

*  Yet  we  find  Mr.  Cooper,  whose  sympathy  perpetually  over- 
flows for  the  commodore,  lamenting  that  "  this  draught  greatly 
deranged  the  crew  of  the  Pike,  her  men  requiring  to  be  station- 
ed anew  after  it  had  been  made."  The  only  difficulty  in  sta- 
tioning them  would  be  to  keep  them  out  of  each  other's  way. 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PE|IRY.  191     ^  v^ 

val  from  his  command  on  the  ground  of  his  "  com- 
plaining of  the  quality  of  the  crews  of  the  ves- 
sels which  he  commanded."  If  this  statemej^jfifej 
were  to  remain  uncorrected,  it  would  leave  an 
impression  upon  the  public  mind  suited  to  dimin- 
ish the  well-earned  fame  of  Perry ;  an  impression, 
indeed,  which  it  is  the  general  tendency  of  all 
that  Mr.  Cooper  has  w^ritten  with  regard  to  him 
to  produce.  But  for  this  circumstance,  the  dif- 
ficulty which  took  place  between  Commodore 
Chauncey  and  Captain  Perry  would  not  have 
been  here  adverted  to,  as  it  did  not  prevent  them 
from  subsequently  resuming  their  friendship.  Cap- 
tain Perry's  letter  will  show  the  real  grounds  of 
his  request  to  be  removed  from  under  Commodore 
Chauncey 's  command,  and  the  unfounded  charac- 
ter of  Mr.  Cooper's  allegation.  It  is  dated  on 
board  the  Lawrence,  at  Erie,  on  the  tenth  of 
August. 

"  Sir, 
"  I  am  under  the  disagreeable  necessity  of  re- 
questing a  removal  from  this  station.  The  en- 
closed copy  of  a  letter  from  Commodore  Chaun- 
cey will,  I  am  satisfied,  convince  you  that  I  can- 
not serve  longer  under  an  officer  w^ho  has  been  so 
totally  regardless  of  my  feelings.  The  men  spoken 
of  by  Commodore  Chauncey  are  those  mentioned 
in  the  roll  I  did  myself  the  honour  to  send  you. 


192  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

They  may,  sir,  be  as  good  as  are  on  the  other 
lake;  but,  if  so,  that  squadron  must  be  poorly 
manned  indeed.  In  the  requisition  for  men  sent 
by  your  order,  I  made  a  note,  saying  I  should  con- 
sider myself  equal  or  superior  to  the  enemy  with 
a  smaller  number  of  men.  What  then  might  have 
been  considered  certain,  may,  from  lapse  of  time, 
be  deemed  problematical.* 

"  The  commodore  insinuates  that  I  have  taken 
measures  to  obtain  a  separate  command.  I  beg 
leave  to  ask  you,  sir,  if  anything  in  any  of  my 
letters  to  you  could  be  construed  into  such  a  mean- 
ing. On  my  return  to  this  place  in  June  last,  I 
wrote  you  that  the  Queen  Charlotte  and  Lady  Pre- 
vost  were  off  this  harbour,  and  if  they  remained  a 
few  days  I  might  possibly  be  able  to  intercept 
their  return  to  Maiden.  I  had  no  orders  to  act ; 
and  the  only  way  of  obtaining  them  in  time  was 
to  write  to  you,  sir,  as  the  communication  be- 
tween Commodore  Chauncey  and  myself  occupied 
considerably  upward  of  a  month.  In  my  request, 
I  meant  this  as  a  reason  for  applying  to  you  on 
the  emergency  instead  of  to  the  commodore. 

"  I  have  been  on  this  station  upward  of  five 

*  He  had  since  heard  of  the  arrival  of  Commodore  Barclay 
with  a  re-enforcement  of  officers  and  men,  and  of  the  launch- 
ing of  the  heavy  ship  Detroit,  which,  when  fitted  for  service, 
would  give  the  enemy  a  decided  superiority.  His  great  anxiety 
had  been  to  get  out  before  the  equipment  of  that  ship. 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  193 

months,  and  during  that  time  have  submitted 
cheerfully  and  with  pleasure  to  fatigue  and  anx- 
iety hitherto  unknown  to  me  in  the  service.  I 
have  had  a  very  responsible  situation,  without  an 
officer,  except  one  sailing-master,  of  the  least  ex- 
perience. However  seriously  I  have  felt  my  situ- 
ation, not  a  murmur  has  escaped  me.  The  critical 
state  of  General  Harrison  was  such  that  I  took  upon 
myself  the  very  great  responsibility  of  going  out 
with  the  few  young  officers  you  had  been  pleased 
to  send  me,  with  the  few  seamen  I  had,  and  as 
many  volunteers  as  I  could  muster  from  the  mili- 
tia. I  did  not  shrink  from  this  responsibility ;  but, 
sir,  at  that  very  moment  I  surely  did  not  antici- 
pate the  receipt  of  a  letter  in  every  line  of  which 
is  insult.  Under  all  these  circumstances,  I  beg 
most  respectfully  and  most  earnestly  that  I  may 
be  immediately  removed  from  this  station.  I  am 
willing  to  forego  that  reward  which  I  have  con- 
sidered for  two  months  past  almost  within  my 
grasp.  If,  sir,  I  have  rendered  my  country  any 
service  in  the  equipment  of  this  squadron,  I  beg  it 
may  be  considered  an  inducement  to  grant  my  re- 
quest. I  shall  proceed  with  the  squadron,  and 
whatever  is  in  my  power  shall  be  done  to  promote 
the  interest  and  honour  of  the  service." 

The  reader  may  thus  see  for  himself  that  Cap- 
tain Perry's  application  for  removal  from  his  com- 
R 


194  AMERICAN     BIOGRAPHY. 

mand  was  made  upon  the  specific  ground  that  he 
was  unwilhng  to  serve  under  an  officer  who  had 
been  totally  regardless  of  his  feelings,  by  address- 
ing to  him  a  letter  which  he  conceived  to  be  in- 
sulting in  every  line,  and  not  in  any  measure  or 
degree  on  account  of  "  the  quality  of  the  crews  of 
the  vessels  he  commanded,"  as  is  incorrectly  al- 
leged by  Mr.  Cooper.  In  going  out  with  only  three 
hundred  officers  and  men,  and  a  few  militia  volun- 
teers hastily  collected,  on  his  own  responsibility  and 
without  orders  to  act,  he  manifested  his  willing- 
ness to  meet  the  enemy,  whatever  might  be  "  the 
quality  of  the  crews  of  the  vessels  he  command- 
ed," as  he  subsequently  did  his  abihty  to  triumph 
signally  with  the  same  materials. 

Lieutenant  Elliott  was  at  the  same  time  the 
bearer  of  a  second  letter  from  Commodore  Chaun- 
cey,  dated  off  Niagara  on  the  third  of  August,  in 
which  he  expressed  the  hope  that  the  one  hundred 
officers  and  men  accompanying  Lieutenant  Elliott, 
together  with  such  assistance  as  Captain  Perry 
might  be  able  to  get  from  the  army,  would  place 
him  so  nearly  upon  a  footing  with  the  enemy  as 
to  enable  him  to  go  out  and  offer  battle,  and  open, 
if  possible,  an  immediate  intercourse  with  General 
Harrison.  Commodore  Chauncey  also  expressed 
his  disappointment  at  not  being  able  to  send  Cap- 
tain Perry  any  marines,  as  he  had  expected  to 
have  done.    He  stated  that,  as  Captain  Wain- 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  195 

Wright,  who  had  been  announced  as  about  to  ar- 
rive with  a  detachment,  had  not  reached  Sackett's 
Harbour  before  the  commodore  sailed,  he  was  un- 
able to  send  them  at  that  time  without  distressing 
his  OAvn  ship ;  but,  as  soon  as  he  should  return  to 
Sackett's  Harbour,  he  promised  to  send  fifty  ma- 
rines to  Captain  Perry.  Ten  days  after  making 
this  promise,  the  commodore,  while  on  his  way  to 
Sackett's  Harbour,  met  with  the  schooner  Lady 
of  the  Lake,  which,  by  his  order,  was  transporting 
the  promised  detachment  of  marines  to  Niagara, 
to  be  thence  forwarded  to  Lake  Erie.  Commo- 
dore Chauncey  now  took  these  marines,  which  he 
had  promised  to  Captain  Perry,  and  which  would 
have  been  so  valuable  to  him,  on  board  of  his 
own  vessels.  The  reason  assigned  by  Mr.  Cooper 
for  this  unjust  appropriation  was,  that  Commodore 
Chauncey  had  recently  lost  one  hundred  and  fifty 
men  by  the  foundering  of  two  of  his  vessels,  and 
the  capture  of  two  others  by  the  enemy  in  action, 
on  the  night  of  the  tenth  of  August.  Yet,  three 
or  four  days  after  Commodore  Chauncey  deemed 
it  necessary  to  strengthen  himself  with  this  feeble 
re-enforcement  to  his  large  force,  but  which  would 
have  been  of  so  much  importance  to  the  smaller 
force  of  Captain  Perry,  we  find  the  commodore, 
in  the  absence  of  two  of  his  cruisers,  the  Fair 
American  and  Asp,  offering  battle  to  the  whole 
British  squadron  off  the  False  Ducks.    If  the  com- 


196  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

modore  considered  himself  a  match  for  the  British 
squadron  without  two  of  his  cruisers,  with  still 
more  confidence  might  he  have  gone  into  action 
with  those  two  vessels,  and  without  the  fifty  ma- 
rines withheld  from  Lake  Erie,  where  their  pres- 
ence was  so  essential.  As  for  the  substitution  of 
either  militiamen  or  newly-levied  regular  troops 
for  marines,  it  is  needless  to  say  how  ill  the  former 
could  supply  the  place  of  the  latter.  Marines, 
from  the  long-continued  habit  of  serving  on  ship- 
board, are  as  much  at  home  there  as  seamen,  and 
are  of  essential  use  in  the  discharge  of  every  or- 
dinary duty.  In  battle,  whether  stationed  at  the 
great  guns,  to  the  exercise  of  which  they  are 
trained  in  all  well-disciplined  ships,  as,  indeed, 
they  should  be  while  in  barracks,  or  using  their 
own  appropriate  arms,  they  have  ever  shown  the 
most  devoted  courage.  These  circumstances  add 
to  the  injustice  which  Commodore  Chauncey  did 
to  Captain  Perry  in  withholding  from  him  his  due 
quota  of  marines,  under  a  pretext  which  is  wholly 
insufficient.  It  would  be  unfair  to  Commodore 
Chauncey  not  to  state,  that  the  injustice  done  by 
him  to  Captain  Perry,  in  withholding  a  sufficient 
number  of  good  men,  has  been  practised  not  un- 
frequently  by  our  old  commanders,  though,  per- 
haps, in  less  critical  circumstances.  Deprived  of 
the  distinction  of  higher  grades  as  a  just  reward 
of  faithful  services,  and  accustomed  yearly  to  see 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  197 

their  juniors  take  rank  beside  them,  they  cling 
with  pertinacity  to  every  admitted  attribute  of 
their  superior  station,  and  use  their  authority  in  a 
narrow  spirit,  and  with  reference  chiefly  to  them- 
selves. The  subjects  of  injustice  themselves,  they 
are  not  a  little  prone  to  exercise  injustice  towards 
others.  The  creation  of  a  higher  grade,  while  it 
would  incalculably  promote  the  discipline  and  best 
interests  of  the  service,  would  impart  a  magnanim- 
ity to  our  old  commanders  in  their  relations  with 
their  inferiors,  which  they  are  at  present  but  little 
in  the  habit  of  practising. 

It  may  be  as  well  here  to  state,  that  the  difficul- 
ty growing  out  of  Commodore  Chauncey's  harsh 
letter  of  the  thirtieth  of  July  was  closed,  so  far  as 
these  two  officers  were  concerned,  by  the  follow- 
ing reply  of  Commodore  Chauncey  to  Captain  Per- 
ry's letter,  announcing  his  having  requested  to  be 
withdrawn  from  Lake  Erie.  It  is  inserted  in  jus- 
tice to  Commodore  Chauncey,  as  being  alike  cred- 
itable to  his  good  sense  and  good  feeling.  The 
letter  is  dated  at  Sackett's  Harbour  on  the  twen- 
ty-seventh of  August. 

"Sir, 
"  I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  eleventh  in- 
stant, wherein  you  inform  me  that  you  had  en- 
closed a  copy  of  my  letter  of  the  thirtieth  of  July 
to  the  honourable  the  secretary  of  the  navy,  with 
R2 


198  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

a  request  that  you  might  be  immediately  removed 
from  Lake  Erie.  I  regret  your  determination  for 
various  reasons;  the  first  and  most  important  is, 
that  the  pubHc  service  would  suffer  from  a  change, 
and  your  removal  might  in  some  degree  defeat 
the  objects  of  the  campaign.  Although  I  con- 
ceive that  you  have  treated  me  with  less  candour 
than  I  was  entitled  to,  considering  the  warm  in- 
terest that  I  have  always  taken  in  your  behalf,  yet 
my  confidence  in  your  zeal  and  ability  has  been 
undiminished,  and  I  should  really  regret  that  any 
circumstance  should  remove  you  from  your  present 
command  before  you  have  accomplished  the  ob- 
jects for  which  you  were  sent  to  Erie ;  and  I  trust 
that  you  will  give  the  subject  all  the  consideration 
that  its  importance  requires  before  you  make  up 
your  mind  definitively.  You  ought  also  to  consider 
that  the  first  duty  of  an  officer  is  to  sacrifice  all 
personal  feelings  to  his  public  duties." 

The  volunteers  from  the  militia  which  Captain 
Perry  had  taken  on  board  to  go  in  pursuit  of  the 
enemy  had  only  been  for  that  single  cruise.  He 
was  unable  to  procure  any  permanent  volunteers 
to  perform  the  duty  of  marines  during  the  cruising 
reason.  With  his  small  force,  a  few  short  of  four 
hundred  officers  and  men,  he  sailed  on  the  twelfth 
of  August  from  Erie,  to  proceed  up  the  lake  and 
place  himself  in  co-operation  with  the  northwestern 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  199 

army,  the  headquarters  of  which  were  then  at  Sen- 
eca, on  the  banks  of  the  Sandusky.  The  order  of 
saihng  estabhshed  by  Perry  for  his  squadron  was  in 
a  double  column ;  the  Lawrence,  Porcupine,  Cale- 
donia, Ohio,  and  Ariel  being  on  the  right,  and  the 
Niagara,  Trippe,  Tigress,  Somers,  and  Scorpion 
on  the  left,  in  the  order  respectively  in  which  they 
are  named.  It  will  be  seen  that  he  had  now  add- 
ed the  Ohio  and  Trippe  to  his  squadron,  under  the 
command  respectively  of  SaiHng-master  D.  Dob- 
bin and  Lieutenant  J.  E.  Smith.  There  was  also 
an  established  line  of  battle  in  one  line,  with  the 
Ariel  and  Scorpion,  the  two  fastest  of  the  small 
vessels,  stationed  on  the  opposite  side  from  the  en- 
emy, and  near  the  commodore,  in  a  situation  to 
support  any  part  of  the  line  that  might  require  it. 
In  a  subsequent  order,  the  Scorpion  was  brought 
into  the  line,  and  the  distance  between  the  vessels 
was  fixed  at  a  half  cable's  length.  Finally,  there 
was  an  order  of  attack,  in  which  a  particular  an- 
tagonist in  the  British  squadron  was  assigned  to 
€ach  vessel  of  ours,  which  was  intended  to  facili- 
tate the  business  of  remodelling  the  line  of  battle, 
if  necessary,  according  to  the  arrangement  of  the 
enemy's  squadron  when  it  should  be  fallen  in  with, 
and  to  fix  in  the  mind  of  each  commander  his  spe- 
cial adversary.  In  this  order  of  attack  Perry  had 
reserved  to  himself  the  privilege  of  fighting  the 
largest  of  the  enemy's  ships,  and  had  accordingly 


200  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

placed  the  Lawrence  opposite  the  Detroit  in  the  di- 
agram, and  the  Niagara,  in  Uke  manner,  opposite 
the  second  British  ship,  the  Queen  Charlotte.  Pro- 
vision was  made,  in  case  of  a  separation  of  our  ves- 
sels and  an  accidental  rencounter  in  the  night,  to 
prevent  a  collision  under  the  impression  of  their  be- 
ing enemies,  that  our  vessels  should  hoist  one  light 
and  hail,  the  vessel  to  windward  should  answer  first 
"  Jones,"  to  which  the  leewardmost  would  answer 
"  Madison."  The  additional  order  was  subse- 
quently issued,  that,  in  the  event  of  the  enemy's 
approaching  our  squadron  to  attack  it  while  at 
anchor,  the  signal  of  two  consecutive  musket-shots 
from  the  Lawrence  would  be  a  signal  for  the  ves- 
sels to  cut  their  cables  and  make  sail,  beginning 
with  the  leewardmost,  and  form  astern  of  the  Law- 
rence, which  would  show  a  light ;  three  consecu- 
tive musket-shots  would  be  the  signal  to  weigh  in 
the  same  succession.  The  orders  were  all  well 
conceived  to  promote  concerted  action  and  pre- 
vent surprise,  and  indicated  judgment  and  fore- 
thought. 

On  the  sixteenth  the  squadron  arrived  off  Cun- 
ningham's Island,  near  the  head  of  the  lake,  with- 
out having  seen  the  enemy.  It  was  blowing  fresh 
at  the  time,  which  prevented  it  from  taking  a  berth 
close  in  with  Sandusky  Bar,  as  Perry  had  intended, 
in  order  to  disembark  the  military  stores  for  the 
army,  and  communicate  with  General  Harrison. 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  201 

On  the  following  day,  one  of  the  enemy's  small 
cruisers  having  hove  in  sight,  probably  to  recon- 
noitre, the  squadron  gave  chase  and  was  nearly 
up  with  her,  when,  night  coming  on,  she  disap- 
peared among  the  group  of  the  Sisters. 

The  squadron  now  anchored  off  Sandusky,  and 
General  Harrison  came  on  board  the  Lawrence  on 
the  nineteenth  of  August,  in  the  evening,  accom- 
panied by  Generals  Cass  and  M' Arthur,  Colonel 
Gaines,  Major  Croghan,  wnth  the  whole  of  his  nu- 
merous staff,  and  twenty-six  chiefs  of  the  Shawnee, 
Wyandot,  and  Delaware  Indians;  among  whom 
w^ere  three  highly  influential  ones.  Crane,  Black 
Hoof,  and  Captain  Tommy  by  name.  The  object 
of  the  general  in  bringing  .the  Indians  was,  that 
they  might  inform  their  friends  then  with  the  en- 
emy of  our  force,  with  the  hope  of  detaching  them. 
They  were,  of  course,  filled  with  wonder  at  the 
spectacle  of  our  "  big  canoes."  On  the  morning  of 
the  twentieth,  a  salute  was  fired  in  honour  of  the 
general's  visit.  Perry  learned  from  him  that  he 
was  not  ready  to  advance,  and  determined,  in  the 
interim,  to  go  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy's  squadron 
and  offer  it  battle.  The  general  and  commodore 
spent  the  day  in  reconnoitring  Put-in  Bay,  to  the 
advantages  of  which  the  general  had  first  called 
his  attention.  After  concerting  their  plans  for  the 
removal  of  the  army  to  this  point,  when  it  should 
be  all  assembled  previously  to  invading  Canada, 


202  AMERICAN     BIOGRAPHY. 

the  general  returned  on  the  twenty-first  to  his 
camp.  Perry  proceeded  on  the  twenty-third  to 
Put-in  Bay,  and  on  the  twenty-fifth  stood  for  Mai- 
den, and  discovered  the  British  squadron  at  anchor 
within  Bar  Point.  It  had  not  yet  been  re-en- 
forced by  the  new  ship  Detroit,  which  they  could 
not  discern.  The  wind  blew  fresh  at  the  time ; 
and,  as  the  Bay  of  Maiden  can  only  be  approached 
and  left  again  with  a  leading  breeze,  when  the 
wind  is  from  southwest  or  northeast.  Captain  Per- 
ry thought  it  unsafe  to  run  the  risk  of  getting  era- 
bayed,  in  which  event  he  would  be  much  exposed 
to  lose  some  of  his  dullest  sailers.  On  this  ac- 
count, and  in  consequence  of  being  attacked  with 
bilious  remittent  fever,  a  disease  which  was  very 
prevalent  in  the  squadron,  and  which  was  attend- 
ed with  almost  immediate  prostration  of  strength, 
he  took  his  squadron  into  Put-in  Bay.  This  is  a 
snug  harbour,  formed  by  the  group  of  Bass  Islands. 
It  opens  tow^ards  the  Canada  shore  in  the  direction 
of  Maiden,  overlooks  the  passage  into  the  upper 
and  lower  lakes,  and  offers  an  admirable  point  for 
protecting  the  adjacent  coasts  of  Ohio,  and  the  out- 
lets of  the  numberless  streams  which  here  disem- 
bogue into  Lake  Erie.  Soon  after  Perry's  attack, 
his  disease,  owing  doubtless  to  the  strength  of  his 
constitution,  assumed  a  very  malignant  character. 
The  surgeon  of  the  Lawrence  was  seriously  ill,  as 
were  the  chaplain,  Mr.  T.  Breese,  and  Alexander 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      203 

Perry,  the  commodore's  brother.  The  assistant 
surgeon,  Dr.  U.  Parsons,  himself  out  of  health,  was 
obliged  to  prescribe  for  the  commodore,  and  all  the 
sick  of  the  Lawrence  and  of  the  small  vessels.  He 
resorted  at  once,  in  the  commodore's  case,  to  strong 
remedial  measures,  and  appUed  a  blister  to  the 
back  of  his  neck.  On  the  twenty-eighth  of  Au- 
gust Dr.  Parsons  himself  became  affected  with  the 
prevailing  fever.  Though  so  ill  as  to  be  incapa- 
ble of  walking,  with  a  humane  self-devotion  most 
honourable  to  him,  he  continued  to  attend  at  the 
bedsides  of  the  sick,  to  which  he  was  carried,  and 
to  prescribe  for  them,  not  only  on  board  of  the 
Lawrence,  but  on  board  the  small  vessels,  being 
lifted  for  the  purpose  on  board  of  them  in  his  cot, 
and  the  sick  brought  on  deck  for  his  prescription. 
On  the  thirty-first  of  August,  while  lying  in 
Put-in  Bay,  Perry  received  from  General  Harrison 
a  re-enforcement  of  near  one  hundred  men,  which, 
after  deducting  a  few  deaths,  and  others  left  on 
shore  as  useless  at  Erie,  carried  the  total  of  his 
muster-roll  to  four  hundred  and  ninety  souls. 
Some  of  the  men  who  had  been  selected  from 
General  M* Arthur's  brigade  were  lake  or  river 
boatmen,  and  were  received  as  seamen.  The  ma- 
jority, however,  were  intended  to  perform  duty  as 
marines  in  the  squadron,  in  consequence  of  the  dis- 
appointment in  receiving  the  expected  guard  from 
Ontario.     The  men  detailed  for  this  service  were 


204  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

chiefly  taken  from  the  Kentucky  militia  and  from 
the  twenty-eighth  regiment  of  infantry,  which  had 
recently  joined  the  army  from  Kentucky,  where  it 
had  been  entirely  raised.  The  whole  party,  offi- 
cers and  men  included,  were  volunteers,  led  by  a 
spirit  of  adventure  to  embark  in  an  enterprise  so 
different  from  the  previous  habits  of  their  life. 
Few  of  them  had  ever  seen  a  vessel  before  they 
were  marched  to  the  mouth  of  the  Sandusky,  and 
their  astonishment  and  curiosity  when  they  got  on 
board  were  irrepressible.  They  climbed  to  the 
masthead ;  dove  to  the  bottom  of  the  hold ;  passed, 
without  stopping  or  understanding  any  distinction, 
from  the  sick  bay  to  the  captain's  cabin,  express- 
ing their  admiration  as  they  went  in  awkward  but 
rapturous  terms.  These  Kentuckians  were  dressed 
in  their  favourite  fringed  linsey-woolsey  hunting- 
shirts  and  drawers,  and  were  themselves  equally 
an  object  of  curiosity  to  the  officers  and  seamen, 
few  of  whom  had  ever  seen  any  of  these  hardy 
borderers.  Perry,  for  a  time,  was  amused  with  the 
rest ;  but  began,  ere  long,  to  fear  that  his  extraor- 
dinary marines  would  lend  but  little  assistance  in 
their  appropriate  office  of  sustaining  the  discipline 
and  etiquette,  of  the  squadron.  Soon  after  their 
arrival,  he  briefly  stated  to  the  non-commissioned 
officer  in  command  of  that  portion  of  the  detach- 
ment which  had  been  detailed  for  his  own  ves- 
sel, the  nature  of  the  duties  that  would  be  required 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      205 

of  them,  and  the  line  of  conduct  they  would  be 
required  to  preserve.  The  officer  then  mustered 
his  men  on  deck,  and  informed  them  that  they 
had  been  kindly  indulged  by  Commodore  Perry 
with  an  opportunity  of  gratifying  their  curiosity 
by  seeing  the  ship,  in  doing  which  they  had 
been  permitted  to  violate  the  rules  and  disci- 
pline of  the  sea-service  without  rebuke.  They 
must  now  come  to  order,  and  submit  themselves  to 
the  usual  discipline  of  marines,  confine  themselves 
to  their  proper  places,  and  attend  to  their  appro- 
priate duties,  which  were  forthwith  explained  to 
them.  The  stout  Kentuckians  took  the  admoni- 
tion in  good  part ;  they  carefully  conformed  to  all 
that  was  required  of  them,  were  of  essential  use 
in  manning  the  squadron,  and  replacing  the  ma- 
rines and  seamen  which  Commodore  Chauncey 
had  withheld;  and  their  association  with  Perry 
was,  to  such  of  them  as  survived  to  tell  the  tale 
of  their  adventures,  a  special  and  enduring  source 
of  gratification. 

His  complement  thus  completed  as  to  numbers, 
this  valuable  interval  of  repose  was  profitably  em- 
ployed, by  Perry's  orders,  in  teaching  his  ill-as- 
sorted crews  their  duty,  and  training  them  in  the 
various  evolutions  preparatory  to  battle. 

After  a  week's  confinement  to  his  berth,  Perry 
became  convalescent,  and  found  himself  sufficient- 
ly well  on  the  first  of  September  to  be  upon  deck. 
S 


206  AMERICAN     BIOGRAPHY. 

On  that  day  he  got  his  squadron  once  more  in  mo- 
tion and  stood  off  Maiden.  As  the  weather  was 
settled  and  the  wind  favourable  for  standing  in 
and  out  of  the  bay,  Captain  Perry  ran  very  close 
in,  and  continued  off  the  harbour  the  whole  day 
with  his  colours  set.  He  found  their  new  ship, 
the  Detroit,  rigged  and  anchored  with  the  rest  of 
their  squadron  at  the  mouth  of  the  harbour,  under 
cover  of  a  battery  on  the  mainland,  flanked  by  a 
second  on  an  island  opposite.  His  anticipations 
of  the  enemy's  obtaining  a  superior  force  by  the 
equipment  of  this  ship,  which  he  had  studied  to 
prevent  by  appearing  on  the  lake  and  striking  a 
blow  while  his  force  was  yet  superior  to  that  of 
the  enemy,  being  thus  defeated  by  the  delay  of 
Commodore  Chauncey  in  sending  the  crews  for 
his  vessels,  it  only  remained  for  him  to  try  the 
issue  of  a  battle,  of  which  the  chances  were  now 
rendered  so  much  against  him.  This  purpose  he 
was  still  no  less  firmly  bent  on  effecting.  It  ap- 
pears, moreover,  that  he  already  meditated  an  at- 
tack on  the  enemy  under  the  guns  of  his  batteries, 
should  he  be  unsuccessful  in  drawing  him  out,  in 
concert  with  an  attack  from  General  Harrison  by 
land. 

As  the  enemy  showed  no  disposition  at  this  time 
to  accept  the  offer  of  battle  thus  made  to  him,  on 
equal  terms,  in  the  open  lake.  Perry,  after  care- 
fully reconnoitring  his  position,  bore  up  for  San- 


OP"  THR        -^^ 

OLIVER    HAZARD    PBR-RY.*      gT^OTaM 

dusky  on  the  second  of  September,  in  order  to  '^ 
communicate  with  General  Harrison  with  regard 
to  embarking  his  army  for  an  attack  on  Maiden. 
Captain  Perry  was  of  opinion  that  he  could  em- 
bark twenty-five  hundred  or  three  thousand  men ; 
but  they  would  so  encumber  his  decks  as  to  de- 
stroy the  use  of  the  great  guns.  He  called  the 
general's  attention  to  a  small  island,  known  as  the 
Middle  Sister,  distant  about  fifteen  miles  from 
Maiden,  which  he  thought  would  offer  an  excel- 
lent rendezvous  the  day  previous  to  an  attack. 
This  suggestion  was  subsequently  adopted. 

A  most  deeply  mortifying  circumstance  attend- 
ed Captain  Perry's  return  to  Sandusky.  He  found 
there  two  separate  letters  from  the  secretary  of  the 
navy,  dated  on  the  eighteenth  of  August.  One 
of  them  was  in  reply  to  his  application  for  re- 
moval from  the  command  of  Lake  Erie.  It  was 
an  exceedingly  temperate  and  judicious  letter,  in 
which,  while  he  was  informed  that  the  interests  of 
the  public  service  did  not  admit  of  a  change  of 
commanders  under  existing  circumstances,  his  pa- 
triotism and  sense  of  duty  were  powerfully  appealed 
to  as  motives  for  inducing  him  to  allay  his  feel- 
ings of  discontent,  to  avoid  recrimination,  and 
persevere  in  the  zealous  and  honourable  path  of 
duty  which  he  had  hitherto  pursued  with  so  much 
credit  to  himself  and  advantage  to  his  country. 
The  secretary  concluded  his  letter  with  the  follow- 


208  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

ing  admirable  sentiment,  so  well  suited  to  influ- 
ence a  generous  temper : 

"  It  is  the  duty  of  an  officer,  and  in  none  does 
his  character  shine  more  conspicuous,  to  sacrifice 
all  personal  motives  and  feelings  when  in  collision 
with  the  public  good.  This  sacrifice  you  are 
called  upon  to  make ;  and  I  calculate  with  confi- 
dence upon  your  efforts  to  restore  and  preserve 
harmony,  and  to  concentrate  the  vigorous  exer- 
tions of  all  in  carrying  into  effect  the  great  ob- 
jects of  your  enterprise." 

The  soothing  and  complimentary  effects  of  this 
letter  were,  however,  accompanied  by  a  very  bitter 
antidote  in  another  letter  from  the  same  function- 
ary of  the  same  date,  which,  without  once  advert- 
ing to  the  subject  of  the  difficulty  with  Commo- 
dore Chauncey,  or  the  tendered  resignation  of  the 
Lake  Erie  command,  was  filled  throughout  with 
reproof  and  animadversion,  expressed  occasionally 
in  a  tone  sufficiently  bitter  and  taunting.  It  com- 
menced thus  abruptly : 

"  A  draught  has  been  drawn  upon  me  for  four 
thousand  two  hundred  and  seventy-eight  dollars 
for  lead  ballast.  This  appears  to  me  extraordi- 
nary; for,  admitting  there  was  no  pig-iron,  yet, 
as  you  are  on  a  fresh-water  lake,  and  require  no 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  209 

room  for  water,  and  but  little  for  provisions  and 
stores  for  a  short  cruise,  stone,  properly  stowed 
and  levelled,  would  have  answered  every  purpose. 
I  presume,  if  neither  pig-iron  nor  lead  could  have 
been  procured,  that  the  object  would  not  have 
been  frustrated  on  that  account.  I  make  great 
allowances  for  the  remote  situation  and  want  of 
lOcal  resources,  but  the  expenditures  have  been 
great  indeed. 

"  I  observe  Mr.  Magrath,  a  purser,  in  command 
of  one  of  the  vessels.  You  have  several  officers, 
highly  spoken  of  by  their  late  commanders,  who 
are  now  commissioned  lieutenants.  Two  of  them, 
Messrs.  Yarnall  and  Packett,  have  brought  valu- 
able prizes  across  the  Atlantic.  You  have  com- 
plained very  much,  and  it  appears  to  me  rather 
unreasonably,  of  the  want  of  officers.  Those  you 
have  have  seen  considerable  service,  from  which 
they  are  regularly  entitled  to  the  situations  they 
now  hold,  and  Mr.  Magrath  cannot  command  to 
the  prejudice  of  the  heutenants.  You  surely  do 
not  expect  the  frigates  to  be  stripped  of  the  senior 
lieutenants  in  order  to  furnish  you  with  what  you 
are  pleased  to  consider  experienced  officers. 

"  I  regret  to  observe,  by  a  letter  from  General 
Harrison,  received  yesterday  at  the  department  of 
war,  that  he  appears  to  be  under  the  impression 
that  you  are  destitute  of  qualified  officers,  and  that 
-your  crews  are  composed  of  anything  but  seamen. 
S2 


210  AMERICAN    BIOGEAPHY. 

If  he  has  received  the  impression  from  you,  I  deem 
it  extremely  improper;  and  I  am  mortified  that  the 
idea  has  considerable  currency.  If  the  fact  was 
really  so,  its  existence  was  not  to  be  made  a  mat- 
ter of  public  notoriety,  to  imbolden  the  enemy  and 
depress  the  confidence  of  the  officers  and  men  in 
their  own  powers.  If  you  were  yourself  con- 
vinced of  the  fact,  it  was  a  proper  ground  of  re- 
monstrance to  this  department,  and  would  ever 
have  been  a  justification  on  your  part  in  declining 
to  meet  the  enemy  until  a  remedy  should  have 
been  appHed." 

There  seems  to  be  something  disingenuous  in 
the  mode  adopted  by  the  secretary  to  get  rid  of 
the  main  difficulty  with  regard  to  Captain  Perry's 
objections  to  Commodore  Chauncey's  letter,  by 
counselling  conciliation  and  appealing  to  his  pa- 
triotism, and  yet,  on  the  same  day,  returning  upon 
him  with  sevenfold  acrimony  in  connexion  with 
the  same  difficulties;  holding  him,  moreover,  re- 
sponsible for  the  very  deficiency  of  officers  and 
men  of  which  he  had  such  just  reason  to  complain, 
and  for  the  tendency  of  this  notorious  deficiency 
to  depress  his  own  men  and  imbolden  the  enemy. 
Instructed  to  co-operate  with  General  Harrison, 
and  constantly  urged  by  him  to  join  company, 
how  could  he  avoid  stating  to  him  the  causes  of 
his  inabihty  to  comply?    His  sneer  at  the  ex- 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.     211 

travagance  of  Captain  Perry's  pretensions,  and  ?it 
the  absurdity  of  stripping  the  frigates  of  their  se- 
nior lieutenants  in  order  to  furnish  him  with  what 
he  was  pleased  to  consider  experienced  officers, 
was  no  less  futile  and  ridiculous  than  it  was  in- 
sulting. On  the  day  that  Captain  Perry  received 
this  harsh  rebuke,  he  wrote  a  temperate  and  re- 
spectful reply,  amply  vindicating  himself  from  the 
charges  thus  brought  against  him.  It  was  in  the 
following  words : 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  acknowledge  the  receipt 
of  your  letter  of  the  eighteenth  ultimo,  and  am 
sorry  to  observe  that  my  conduct  in  several  par- 
ticulars is  disapproved  by  the  department.  No 
doubt  I  have  fallen  into  many  errors,  but  I  beg 
leave  to  assure  you  that  I  have  used  my  best  ex- 
ertions to  forward  the  views  of  the  department  in 
the  equipment  of  the  vessels  on  this  lake  with  the 
least  possible  expense  and  delay.  If  I  have  failed, 
I  hope  the  failure  will  be  attributed  to  anything 
but  a  want  of  zeal  for  the  service  and  a  proper  at- 
tention to  the  important  interests  committed  to  my 
care.  On  ascertaining  that  pig-iron  could  not  be 
had,  and  being  informed  that  lead  would  at  any 
time  command  cost  at  Erie,  I  did  not  hesitate  to 
order  it,  the  runs  in  the  vessels  being  so  low  as 
not  to  admit  a  sufficient  quantity  of  stone  ballast. 
The  expenditures  on  this  station  have  no  doubt 


212  AMERICAN    BIOGEAPHY. 

amounted  to  a  large  sum;  but  I  am  well  convinced, 
when  critically  examined,  it  will  be  found  to  have 
been  necessary.  I  have  not  authorized  the  pur- 
chase of  a  single  article  but  what  I  deemed  abso- 
lutely necessary,  and  I  have  paid  the  strictest  at- 
tention to  economy  in  every  particular. 

"  I  was  aware,  at  the  time  I  appointed  Mr.  Ma- 
grath,  that  it  was  irregular,  but  I  was  fully  con- 
vinced that  it  was  the  best  arrangement  that  I 
could  make.  I  knew  him  to  be  an  experienced 
sea-officer,  and  that  his  appointment  did  not  inter- 
fere with  the  wishes  of  the  other  officers.*  Mr. 
Packett,  then  acting  lieutenant,  by  his  own  appli- 
cation had  command  of  the  Ariel,  and  Mr.  Yar- 
nall,  made  acting  lieutenant  by  myself,  was  the 
second  officer  of  this  vessel.  Neither  of  them 
would  have  preferred  the  command  of  the  Cale- 
donia to  the  situation  he  held. 

"  I  am  sorry  that  my  application  for  experienced 
officers  should  have  been  considered  unreasonable. 
Mr.  Yarnall  and  Mr.  Packett  are  certainly  fine 
young  men,  and  will  make  valuable  officers.  But 
two  sloops  of  war  and  nine  other  vessels  required 
a  much  greater  number  of  officers  than  I  had,  and, 
as  I  conceived,  of  more  experience.  If  I  have 
been  too  urgent  in  this  particular,  I  hope  the  ar- 
dent desire  I  had  to  have  under  my  command  a 

*  Mr.  Magrath  had  originally  been  a  sea-officer  in  the  navy- 
senior  to  Perry.    He  had  resigned,  as  an  old  lieutenant,  in  1809. 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  213 

force  adequate  to  the  object  in  view,  will  serve  as 
my  apology. 

"  Heretofore  I  have  considered  myself  fortunate 
in  having  but  little  said  in  the  public  prints  re- 
specting my  force.  So  far  from  giving  currency 
to  the  opinion  that  is  said  to  prevail,  I  have  en- 
deavoured, as  much  as  possible,  to  conceal  my 
weakness.  But  in  a  village  like  Erie  it  must  at 
all  times  be  impossible  to  conceal  the  numbers  or 
nature  of  such  a  force,  but  particularly  when  there 
were  several  thousand  militia  in  the  place,  all  eager 
to  know  the  exact  state  of  affairs,  and  as  eager  to 
communicate  to  their  correspondents  the  result  of 
their  inquiries.  The  commanders  of  the  vessels 
were  personally  known  to  the  inhabitants  -,  and  it 
was  easy  for  any  printer  to  procure  a  list  for  pub- 
lication, without  applying  to  me  or  any  officer 
under  my  command.  The  hst  published  was  with- 
out my  knowledge.  Nor  will  it  be  thought  strange 
that  General  Harrison  should  have  had  a  tolerably 
correct  idea  of  the  nature  of  the  force  at  Erie, 
when  it  is  known  that  one  of  his  officers  was  sta- 
tioned there  for  several  weeks  before  the  squadron 
sailed.  I  have  the  honour  to  enclose  you  extracts 
of  my  letters  to  him  on  the  subject,  which  I  hope 
will  not  be  thought  improper  when  our  relative 
situation  is  considered.  I  have  this  day  placed 
Lieutenant  Turner  in  command  of  the  Caledonia." 


214  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

With  regard  to  the  imputed  extravagance  of  the 
expenditures,  it  may  be  farther  remarked,  that  the 
expenses  of  the  construction  of  the  Erie  squadron 
fell  far  below  those  of  vessels  of  equal  size  on  Lake 
Ontario ;  and,  farthermore,  that  Perry  had,  of  his 
own  free-will,  relinquished  the  financial  agency  for 
the  lake,  which  would  have  proved  a  source  of 
considerable  profit  to  him,  from  the  belief  that  it 
would  interfere  with  his  more  important  obliga- 
tions. It  is  truly  painful  thus  to  see  Perry  reduced 
to  the  necessity  of  defending  himself.  The  fulness 
of  the  defence  shows,  however,  the  absurd  and 
simulated  character  of  the  charges.  Henceforth 
other  cares  than  those  of  self-vindication  remain 
for  him,  and  the  ingenuity  of  the  censorious  secre- 
tary is  tasked  to  devise  commendatory  phrases  in- 
stead of  detecting  imaginary  faults. 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  215 


CHAPTER  VIIL 

Intelligence  of  the  Enemy^s  Intention  to  Sail. — Rela- 
tive Force  of  Squadrons. — Perry  returns  to  Put- 
in Bay. — Last  Instructions  for  Battle. — Enemy 
appears  in  Sight,  standing  for  our  Squadron. — 
Ferry  sails. — Shift  of  Wind. — Enemy  to  Leeward, 
— Clearing  for  Action. — Hoisting  Battle-flag. — 
Cheers  along  the  Line. — Action  commences. — De- 
structive Fire  on  the  Lawrence  in  hearing  dovm, 
— Supported  by  Scorpion,  Ariel,  and  Caledonia. 
— Niagara  draws  to  Windward. — Desperate  Re- 
sistance of  the  Lawrence. — She  is  reduced  to  a 
Wreck. — Ferry  shifts  to  the  Niagara. — Perils  of 
his  Passage. — Sympathy  of  the  Lawrence's  Crew» 
— He  reaches  the  Niagara  in  Safety. — Surrender 
of  the  Lawrence. — Death  of  Brooks. — The  Niagara 
breaks  the  Enemy^s  Line. — Engages  loth  Sides. — 
British  Squadron  attempts  to  Wear. — Detroit  and 
Queen  Charlotte  get  foul. — Terrible  raking  Fire. 
• — British  Surrender. — Appearance  of  both  Squad- 
rons.-^Character  of  the  Victory. — Official  Letters, 
— Burial  of  Seamen. — Return  to  Put-in  Bay. — 
Burial  of  Officers, 

On  the  fourth  of  September  Captain  Perry  de- 
spatched the  Ohio  to  Erie  for  provisions  and  stores, 
with  directions  to  hasten  back,  as  her  services 
would  probably  be  required  in  a  week.     On  the 


216  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

fifth,  our  squadron  still  continuing  in  Sandusky- 
Bay,  three  citizens  arrived  from  Maiden,  who 
communicated  to  Captain  Perry  that  the  British 
army  under  General  Proctor  being  short  of  pro- 
visions, it  had  been  determined  that  the  squadron 
should  sail  to  engage  ours,  and  endeavour  to  open 
a  communication  with  Long  Point,  so  as  to  draw 
the  necessary  supplies  from  the  depot  at  that 
place.  Captain  Perry  now  also  received  more 
accurate  information  than  he  had  yet  obtained  as 
to  the  force  of  the  enemy's  squadron.  From  the 
information  he  then  obtained,  with  what  was  af- 
terward learned  of  the  squadron,  we  will  now  state 
that  it  consisted  of  the  new  and  very  strongly- 
built  ship  Detroit,  of  five  hundred  tons  and  nine- 
teen guns,  all  long  except  two  twenty-four  pound 
carronades ;  of  the  ship  Queen  Charlotte,  of  four 
hundred  tons  and  seventeen  guns,  three  of  them  be- 
ing long  guns,  the  Detroit  and  Queen  Charlotte 
having  each  one  of  the  long  guns  on  a  pivot;  of  the 
schooner  Lady  Prevost,  of  two  hundred  and  thirty 
tons  and  thirteen  guns,  three  being  long  guns ;  of 
the  brig  Hunter,  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  tons 
and  ten  guns;  of  the  sloop  Little  Belt,  of  one 
hundred  tons  and  three  guns,  two  long  twelves 
and  one  long  eighteen ;  and  of  the  schooner  Chip- 
peway,  of  one  hundred  tons,  mounting  one  long 
eighteen ;  making  in  all  sixty-three  guns,  thirty- 
five  of  which  were  long.    The  squadron  was  com- 


OLIVER     HAZARD    PERRY.  217 

manded  by  Captain  Robert  Heriot  Barclay,  a  vet- 
eran officer,  who  had  served  with  distinction  in 
many  of  those  naval  engagements  which  had  ren- 
dered the  name  and  flag  of  England  so  terrible  on 
the  ocean,  and  who  had  been  with  Nelson  at  Traf- 
algar, and  been  desperately  wounded  in  that  ever- 
memorable  seafight ;  more  recently,  as  first  lieu- 
tenant of  a  frigate,  he  had  lost  an  arm  in  action 
with  the  French.  He  was  a  skilful  seaman,  and 
an  officer  of  approved  courage.  He  was  second- 
ed by  a  brave  and  experienced  officer  in  Captain 
Finnis,  with  others  of  honourable  standing  in  their 
profession.  He  had,  within  a  day  or  two,  received 
a  draught  of  fifty  men  from  the  Dover  troop-ship, 
then  lying  at  Quebec,  and  his  crews  now  consist- 
ed of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  from  the  royal 
navy,  as  admitted  in  the  finding  of  the  court-mar- 
tial on  Commodore  Barclay,  with,  according  to 
James's  statement,  eighty  Canadian  sailors,  and 
two  hundred  and  forty  soldiers  from  the  forty-first 
regiment  of  the  line  and  the  regiment  of  New- 
foundland Rangers,  chiefly  from  the  former ;  ma- 
king together,  by  their  own  account,  an  aggregate 
of  four  hundred  and  seventy  seamen  and  soldiers, 
to  whom  are  to  be  added  thirty-two  officers  known 
to  have  been  in  the  squadron,  making  in  all  five 
hundred  and  two  souls.* 

*  That  we  have  not  overstated  the  British  force  will  be  seen 
from  the  following.     Prisoners  taken  in  battle  and  landed  at 

T 


218  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

Of  our  vessels,  mounting  in  all  fifty-four  guns, 
only  the  Lawrence  and  Niagara,  each  of  five  hun- 

Camp  Portage,  as  by  the  official  list,  containing  their  names  and 
rank,  308  ;  killed  and  wounded  in  the  battle  by  the  British  ac- 
count, which  we  will  assume  to  be  correct,  though  we  believe  it 
to  be  underrated,  and  that,  in  the  confusion  of  capture,  and  death 
of  commanders  and  seconds  in  command,  every  person  thrown 
overboard  was  duly  accounted  for,  135 ;  provincial  officers  known 
to  have  been  paroled  by  Commodore  Perry,  on  account  of  hav- 
ing families  at  Maiden,  3  certainly;  medical  officers  detained 
on  board  the  Detroit  and  Queen  Charlotte  to  cure  their  sick 
and  wounded,  3  ;  sea  or  army  lieutenant  paroled  by  Perry,  and 
sent  to  Erie  in  the  Lawrence  after  the  action  to  confer  with  the 
British  commissary  of  prisoners,  1  ;  making  altogether  450 ; 
which,  with  52  which  we  will  suppose  unaccounted  for  and  left 
with  the  wounded  to  go  to  Erie  as  too  ill  for  a  march  of  several 
hundred  miles,  will  make  502.  We  thus,  at  any  rate,  know  cer- 
tainly that  there  were  450  men  in  health  on  board  the  British 
squadron  when  it  went  into  action.  Our  numbers  by  the  mus- 
ter-roll amounted  to  490,  of  which  116  were  sick  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  action.  Say  that  16  of  these  sick  Americans  came 
on  deck  and  took  part  in  the  battle,  it  would  leave  us  with  but 
390  to  450  of  the  British.  Yet  James,  in  his  British  Naval  His- 
tory, tells  us,  p.  250,  vol.  6,  "  By  adding  80  Canadians  and  240 
soldiers  from  the  Newfoundland  and  41st  regiments  to  the  50 
British  seamen,  the  crew  of  Commodore  Barclay's  squadron  is 
made  to  amount  to  345."  It  should  be  observed,  that  he  had 
previously  stated  that  Captain  Barclay  himself  brought  with  him 
19  seamen,  and  had  mentioned  the  arrival  of  the  draught  from 
the  Dover,  known  to  amount  to  50  seamen.  Before  the  arrival 
of  Barclay,  and  before  the  building  of  the  Detroit,  the  rest  of 
the  squadron,  mounting  44  guns,  was  cruising  under  Captain 
Finnis.  Will  any  one  believe  that  these  vessels,  mounting  44 
guns,  were  only  manned  by  80  Canadians,  even  if  the  finding  of 
the  court-martial  did  not  enable  us  to  ascertain  the  contrary  ?    It 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY,      219 

dred  tons,  could  be  considered  men-of-war.  The 
others  were  exceedingly  frail,  and  without  bul- 
warks. They  were  chiefly  armed  with  long  guns. 
The  brigs  mounted  each  twenty  guns,  eighteen 
thirty-two  pound  carronades  and  two  long  twelves. 
They  constituted  the  main  dependance  of  the  squad- 
ron, and  could  only  be  effective  against  an  enemy 
chiefly  armed  with  long  guns  by  coming  at  once 

must  be  remembered  that  Mr.  James  is  aided  by  a  captain  in  the 
royal  navy,  who,  as  such,  is  supposed  to  be  a  mathematician,  and 
yet  endorses  the  arithmetic  of  Mr.  James.  In  the  Edinburgh 
Review  of  1840,  this  arithmetic  is  again  endorsed  by  a  Scotch- 
man, also  probably  a  naval  captain,  who  reproduces  the  figures 
and  draws  arguments  from  them  without  stopping  to  correct 
them.  If  the  error  had  been  the  other  way,  we  should  have  no 
right  to  complain.  As  it  is,  we  think  the  passage  worthy  of 
correction,  or  the  misstatement  of  being  made  more  congruous. 
Another  gross  delusion  practised  by  the  historian  and  endorsed 
by  the  reviewer,  who  claims  for  it  Mr.  Cooper's  sanction  be- 
cause he  has  not  contradicted  it,  is  in  assigning  to  our  squadron 
a  great  superiority  of  metal,  because  the  weight  of  shot  thrown 
by  our  ships  at  a  broadside  was  greatly  superior  to  theirs.  This 
superiority  grew  out  of  the  fact  of  their  having  no  fewer  than 
35  long  guns,  while  we  had  only  15.  Now  the  weight  of  long 
guns  is  to  carronades  of  equal  calibre  more  than  in  the  propor- 
tion of  three  to  one.  How,  then,  could  they  hope  to  exceed  us 
as  35  to  15  in  number  of  long  guns,  and  yet  equal  us  in  weight 
of  shot  at  a  broadside  1  These  naval  gentlemen  must  have 
known  full  well  that  the  advantage  was  on  their  side  while 
making  their  misstatements.  They  also  knew  that  the  cir- 
cumstances under  which  the  battle  was  fought  gave  to  the 
British  the  full  benefit  of  their  substitution  of  length  of  gun  for 
calibre. 


220  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

to  close  action.  The  second  in  command  of  the 
American  squadron  was  Captain  J.  D.  ElUott, 
who  had  recently  superseded  Lieutenant  D.  Tur- 
ner in  the  command  of  the  Niagara,  on  the  eve  of 
saihng  from  Erie.  The  other  officers  were  very 
young  men,  of  little  experience  though  of  great 
promise,  and  sailing-masters  taken  from  the  mer- 
chant service,  chiefly  selected  by  Captain  Perry 
from  among  his  fellow-townsmen,  and  all  of  whom 
did  great  credit  to  his  selection,  and  proved  most 
worthy  of  his  confidence.  The  whole  force  in  offi- 
cers and  men  of  our  squadron  amounted  to  four  hun- 
dred and  ninety ;  of  these,  one  hundred  and  sixteen 
were  on  the  sick-lists  of  the  different  vessels  on  the 
morning  of  the  action,  seventy-eight  cases  being 
of  bilious  fever.  There  were  a  greater  number 
of  so-called  seamen  among  them  than  in  the 
British  squadron,  but  they  were  such  as  remained 
from  the  draughts  sent  to  Lake  Ontario  after  the 
best  materials  had  been  selected.  They  were 
of  all  colours  and  climes,  reduced  in  numbers  and 
emaciated  by  disease.  The  Kentucky  volunteers 
were  stout  fellows,  it  is  true,  with  gallant  spirits, 
but  utter  strangers  to  ships,  and  unaccustomed  to 
discipline.  Those  who  have  been  accustomed  to 
look  upon  the  picked  soldiers  of  a  British  regiment 
will  readily  believe  that  the  soldiers  embarked  in 
the  British  squadron  were  not  less  stout  than  the 
Kentuckians.    They  had  been  trained  to  subordi- 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  221 

nation  by  years  of  service,  while  their  voyages  to 
every  clime  whither  the  ambition  of  England  car- 
ries her  triumphant  arms  had  made  them  familiar 
with  the  ocean,  and  at  home  on  shipboard.  The 
physical  force,  like  the  force  in  ships  and  number 
of  guns,  was  greatly  in  favour  of  the  English.  A 
consideration  of  the  intelligence  thus  obtained  as  to 
the  enemy's  superiority  did  not  check  Captain  Per- 
ry's oft-repeated  desire  to  meet  him.  It  was  not 
in  his  nature  to  neglect  the  advice  of  Commodore 
Chauncey,  however  tauntingly  given,  however 
well  suited  to  increase  his  responsibility  in  the 
event  of  failure,  "  Never  despise  your  enemy !" 
But,  if  he  did  not  despise  his  enemy,  he  had  yet  a 
just  sense  of  his  own  resources,  a  proper  confidence 
in  himself.  He  shared,  in  a  degree  in  no  respect 
inferior,  the  feeling  which  made  all  things  possi- 
ble to  Nelson,  which  impelled  Paul  Jones  to  en- 
terprises of  such  seeming  hardihood. 

On  the  receipt  of  this  intelligence  of  Barclay's 
preparations  to  encounter  him.  Perry  set  sail  from 
Sandusky  on  the  sixth  of  September,  and,  after  re- 
connoitring the  enemy  off  Maiden,  and  observing 
that  he  was  still  at  his  moorings,  returned  to  Put- 
in Bay,  which  offered  so  many  facilities  for  watch- 
ing his  movements.  Here  the  last  preparations 
were  made  for  battle,  the  last  instructions  given  to 
regulate  the  conduct  of  the  subordinate  command- 
ers. The  commanders  of  the  various  vessels,  being 
T2 


222  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

summoned  by  signal  on  board  the  Lawrence,  were 
each  furnished  with  Perry's  corrected  instructions 
for  their  government ;  and  he  farther  explained  to 
them  verbally  his  views  with  regard  to  whatever 
contingency  might  occur.  He  now  produced  a 
battle-flag,  which  he  had  caused  to  be  privately 
prepared  by  Mr.  Hambleton  before  leaving  Erie, 
and  the  hoisting  of  which  to  the  main  royal  mast 
of  the  Lawrence  was  to  be  his  signal  for  action  : 
a  blue  flag,  bearing,  in  large  white  letters,  "  Don't 
give  up  the  ship !"  the  dying  words  of  the  hero 
whose  name  she  bore.  When  about  to  withdraw, 
he  stated  to  them  his  intention  to  bring  the  enemy 
from  the  first  to  close  quarters,  in  order  not  to  lose 
by  the  short  range  of  his  carronades  ;  and  the  last 
emphatic  injunction  with  which  he  dismissed  them 
was,  that  he  could  not,  in  case  of  difficulty,  advise 
them  better  than  in  the  words  of  Lord  Nelson, "  If 
you  lay  your  enemy  close  alongside,  you  cannot  be 
out  of  your  place !" 

Every  preparation  had  thus  been  made  to  meet 
the  enemy,  and  the  young  commander  had  done 
all  that  depended  upon  him  to  secure  a  triumph 
for  his  country.  The  crew  were  all  well  station- 
ed, had  become  thoroughly  practised  at  the  guns, 
and  felt  something  of  the  confidence  which  famil- 
iarity with  the  weapons  they  were  to  use  inspires. 
The  sickness,  however,  had  extended  itself  through- 
out the  fleet,  and  operated  as  a  great  discourage- 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      223 

ment.  On  the  eighth,  all  the  medical  officers  were 
ill  but  Dr.  Parsons,  who,  though  but  half  recover- 
ed, had  returned  to  duty.  He  was  obliged  to  be 
carried  twice  through  the  rain,  which  continued 
the  whole  day,  to  see  the  surgeon  and  the  other 
sick  of  the  Niagara.  By  Dr.  Parsons's  advice,  the 
water  used  by  the  crews  was  boiled ;  it  being 
thought  that  the  prevaihng  dysentery,  and  per- 
haps the  fever,  were  caused  by  the  use  of  the  lake 
water. 

The  British  commander,  who  had  shown  a 
chivalrous  spirit  throughout,  did  not  long  keep 
his  antagonist  in  suspense.  At  sunrise  on  the 
morning  of  the  tenth  of  September,  the  British 
squadron  was  discovered  from  the  masthead  of  the 
Lawrence,  on  the  northwestern  board,  standing  to- 
wards Put-in  Bay,  in  which  our  squadron  was  ly- 
ing. Barclay's  object  was  evidently  attack,  not 
an  uninterrupted  passage  to  Long  Point,  which  he 
could  certainly  have  had ;  and  if  battle  was 
only  an  alternative  with  him,  to  be  risked  in  ex- 
tremity when  it  could  no  longer  be  avoided,  he 
could  have  risked  it  on  his  return  with  supplies 
for  the  army,  if  it  could  no  longer  be  avoided. 
Barclay,  choosing  his  time,  might  have  sailed 
out  along  the  Canada  shore  to  the  northward  of 
all  the  islands  in  the  night,  and  got  well  to  the 
eastward  down  the  lake  before  Perry's  look-out  ves- 
sels, which  he  kept  off  the  Sister  Islands,  could 


224  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

have  advised  him  of  the  enemy  being  out.  But 
he  bore  gallantly  down  to  engage,  choosing  his 
time  so  as  to  have  a  long  day  before  him,  coming 
more  than  half  way  towards  his  enemy,  and  of- 
fering him  battle  on  his  own  coast.  This  fact 
is  interesting,  as  setting  completely  at  rest  the 
pretension  to  any  inferiority  of  force  on  the  part 
of  the  British,  never  set  up  by  Barclay  or  his  of- 
ficers at  the  time,  and  only  since  produced  by  dis- 
ingenuous and  unfaithful  historians,  endeavour- 
ing systematically  to  account,  by  an  alleged  su- 
periority of  force,  for  a  victory  that,  at  any  rate  in 
this  instance,  was  effected  by  superior  gunnery, 
and  the  extraordinary  mental  resources  of  the  vic- 
torious commander. 

The  fact  of  the  British  squadron  being  in  sight 
of  the  masthead  was  at  once  reported  to  Perry  by 
Lieutenant  Dulany  Forrest,  the  officer  of  the  deck 
on  board  the  Lawrence.  He  ordered  the  signal 
made  "  under  way  to  get !"  In  a  few  minutes  the 
whole  squadron  was  under  sail,  beating  out  of  the 
harbour  against  a  light  breeze  from  southwest,  and 
with  the  boats  ahead  to  tow. 

Snake  Island  and  some  other  islands  of  the 
Bass  group  interposed  between  our  squadron  and 
the  enemy.  By  beating  round  to  windward  of 
these  islands,  our  squadron  would  have  had  a  lead- 
ing breeze  to  run  down  upon  the  enemy,  and,  con- 
sequently, the  weather-gauge  in  the  approaching 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      225 

battle.  With  this  view  the  squadron  had  com- 
menced beating  out.  The  wind,  however,  was 
very  unsteady,  and,  as  not  unfrequently  happens 
on  such  occasions,  it  headed  the  squadron  oif  al- 
most every  time  it  crossed  the  channel  and  was 
obliged  to  tack.  Several  hours  had  passed  in  this 
way.  It  was  near  ten  o'clock,  when  Captain  Per- 
ry, now  become  impatient,  addressed  his  sailing- 
master,  Mr.  Taylor,  w^ho  was  working  the  Law- 
rence, and  asked  his  opinion  as  to  the  probable 
time  that  would  still  be  required  to  weather  the 
islands.  When  Mr.  Taylor's  reply  confirmed 
the  opinion  he  had  himself  formed  of  the  probable 
delay  that  this  evolution  would  occasion.  Perry 
told  the  master  he  would  wear  ship,  and  run  to 
leeward  of  the  islands.  Mr.  Taylor  remarked 
that  they  would  then  have  to  engage  the  enemy 
from  to  leeward.  Captain  Perry  replied,  "  I  don't 
care,  to  windward  or  to  leeward,  they  shall  fight 
to-day !"  The  signal  was  accordingly  made  to 
wear  ship  ;  but,  before  the  evolution  was  perform- 
ed, the  wind  shifted  suddenly  to  southeast,  and  en- 
abled the  squadron  to  clear  the  islands  and  keep 
the  weather-gauge.  The  anecdote  is  illustrative  of 
Perry's  fixed  determination  to  fight.  With  an  ar- 
mament composed  chiefly  of  carronades,  in  sur- 
rendering the  weather-gauge  to  a  squadron  having 
a  preponderance  of  long  guns,  he  gave  up  the 
ability,  in  a  great  measure,  to  choose  the  distance 


226  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

at  which  he  would  fight  the  enemy,  which,  with 
such  relative  armaments,  was  an  advantage  of  no 
slight  importance.  Still  he  was  aware  that,  with 
an  enemy  so  gallantly  seeking  an  encounter,  the 
lee-gauge  had  also  its  advantages.  It  would 
have  enabled  him,  while  the  enemy  was  bearing 
down,  to  rake  him  for  a  period  more  or  less  long, 
according  to  the  strength  of  the  breeze,  with  his 
whole  broadsides,  while  the  enemy  would  only  be 
able  to  assail  him  from  his  bow-chasers ;  it  would 
have  enabled  him,  moreover,  to  form  his  squadron 
in  a  compact  line,  so  essential  to  such  a  mixed 
force,  and  await  the  necessarily  more  disordered 
attack  of  the  enemy.  The  lee-gauge,  too,  would 
have  afforded  great  facility  for  relieving  disabled 
vessels,  by  permitting  them  to  drop  under  cover  of 
the  line,  or  might  have  enabled  the  whole  squad- 
ron, if  worsted  in  a  first  encounter,  to  run  to  lee- 
ward, form  a  fresh  line  of  battle,  and  engage  a 
second  time  with  increased  chances  of  success. 

At  ten  o'clock  the  Lawrence  was  cleared  for 
action,  shot  collected  in  the  racks  and  in  circular 
grummets  of  rope,  pistols  and  cutlasses  brought 
by  the  boarders  to  quarters,  preventer  braces  rove, 
matches  lit,  and  the  decks  wet  and  sanded,  to  pre- 
vent the  explosion  of  scattering  powder,  and  cre- 
ate a  secure  foothold  amid  the  approaching  car- 
nage. At  this  hour  the  enemy,  having  lost  all 
hope  of  obtaining  the  weather-gauge  by  manoeu- 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.       227 

vring,  and  observing  our  squadron  coming  out,  hove 
to  in  line  of  battle  on  the  larboard  tack,  with  the 
heads  of  his  vessels  to  the  southward  and  west- 
ward. The  wind  continued  light  from  southeast, 
enabling  the  vessels  to  advance  at  the  rate  of  near 
three  knots  an  hour  ;  the  weather  was  serene,  and 
the  lake  perfectly  still.  There  had  been  a  slight 
rain  in  the  morning ;  but,  with  the  shift  of  wind, 
the  clouds  had  blown  away,  and  the  day  assumed 
all  the  splendour  of  our  early  autumn.  The  Brit- 
ish vessels  were  freshly  painted  and  in  high  condi- 
tion :  being  hove  to  in  close  order,  with  the  morn- 
ing sun  shining  upon  their  broadsides,  and  their  red 
ensigns  gently  unfolding  to  the  breeze,  they  made  a 
very  gallant  appearance  as  our  squadron  bore  down 
to  engage  them,  with  the  wind  on  the  larboard  quar- 
ter. It  was  now  discovered  that  Barclay  had  form- 
ed his  line  with  the  Chippeway,  of  one  long  eigh- 
teen on  a  pivot,  in  the  van ;  the  Detroit,  of  nineteen 
guns,  second  in  the  hne  ;  the  Hunter,  of  ten  guns, 
third ;  the  Queen  Charlotte,  of  seventeen  guns, 
fourth  ;  the  Lady  Prevost,  of  thirteen  guns,  fifth ; 
and  the  Little  Belt,  of  three  guns,  sixth.  Captain 
Perry  now  remodelled  his  line  of  battle,  so  as  to 
bring  his  heaviest  vessels  opposite  to  their  desig- 
nated antagonists.  Claiming  for  himself  the  most 
formidable  antagonist,  he  passed  ahead  of  the  Ni- 
agara so  as  to  encounter  the  Detroit,  and  stationed 
the  Scorpion,  of  two  long  guns,  ahead,  and  the  Ari- 


228  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

el,  of  four  short  twelves,  on  his  weather  bow,  where, 
with  her  light  battery,  and  having,  like  the  other 
small  vessels,  no  bulwarks,  she  might  be  partially 
under  cover.  The  Caledonia,  of  three  long  twen- 
ty-fours, came  next,  to  encounter -the  Hunter  j  the 
Niagara  next,  so  as  to  be  opposite  her  designated 
antagonist,  the  Queen  Charlotte ;  and  the  Somers, 
of  two  long  thirty-twos,  the  Porcupine,  of  one  long 
thirty-two,  Tigress,  of  one  long  twenty-four,  and 
Trippe,  of  one  long  thirty-two,  in  succession  to- 
wards the  rear,  to  encounter  the  Lady  Prevost  and 
Little  Belt.  The  line  being  formed.  Perry  now 
bore  up  for  the  enemy,  distant  at  ten  o'clock  about 
six  miles.*  He  now  produced  the  lettered  burgee 
which,  at  the  last  assembly  of  his  commanders  to 
receive  their  instructions,  he  had  exhibited  as  the 
concerted  signal  for  battle.  Having  unfurled  it, 
he  mounted  on  a  gun-slide,  and,  calling  his  crew 
about  him,  thus  briefly  addressed  them :  "  My 
brave  lads !  this  flag  contains  the  last  words  of 
Captain  Lawrence !  Shall  I  hoist  it  V  "  Ay  ! 
ay !  sir !"  resounded  from  every  voice  in  the  ship, 
and  the  flag  was  briskly  swayed  to  the  main  royal 
masthead  of  the  Lawrence.     The  encouragement 

*  Mr.  Cooper  and  Mr.  Burgess  say  nine  miles.  This  cannot 
be  correct.  Our  squadron  was  sailing  at  the  rate  of  two,  or,  at 
the  most,  two  and  a  half  or  three  knots  ;  and  the  action  be- 
gan at  a  quarter  before  twelve,  at  the  distance  of  a  mile  and  a 
half.  The  British  squadron,  though  hove  to,  must  have  had  8 
headway  and  drift  together  of  half  a  knot. 


OiilVER    HAZARD    PEKRY.  229 

of  these  few  brief  words,  and,  still  more,  the  mild 
and  cheerful  smile  with  which  they  were  uttered  ; 
the  habitual  expression  of  his  countenance,  which 
gave  such  a  winning  fascination  to  his  manners, 
imparted  a  rare  spirit  and  alacrity  to  the  crew ; 
they  responded  to  their  young  and  beloved  com- 
mander's appeal  with  three  hearty  and  enthusi- 
astic cheers,  which,  as  the  battle-flag  unfolded  and 
became  visible  to  the  crews  of  the  other  vessels, 
were  responded  to  enthusiastically  throughout  the 
line.  In  this  moment  of  heroic  excitement,  all  the 
sick  that  were  capable  of  motion  came  on  deck  to 
offer  their  feeble  services  in  defence  of  their  coun- 
try ;  not  a  little  excited  thereto  by  the  reflection 
that  their  young  commander,  reduced,  like  them- 
selves, by  a  wasting  disease,  and  hardly  recovered, 
was  standing  bravely  at  his  post. 

As  the  ordinary  mealtime  was  certain  to  find 
them  engaged,  the  noonday  grog  was  now  served, 
and  the  bread-bags  freely  resorted  to ;  after  which 
all  repaired  once  more  to  their  quarters.  Perry 
now  went  round  the  deck  carefully  examining  his 
battery  gun  by  gun,  to  see  that  everything  was  in 
ample  order,  stopping  at  each  and  exchanging 
words  with  the  captain.  For  all  he  had  some 
pleasant  joke,  some  expression  of  encouragement. 
Seeing  some  of  the  Constitution's,  he  said  to  them, 
"  Well,  boys !  are  you  ready  V  "  All  ready,  your 
honour !"  was  the  brief  reply,  with  a  general  touch 
U 


230  AMERICAN    BIO  GRAPH'S'. 

of  the  hat  or  the  handkerchief  which  some  of  the 
old  salts  had  substituted  for  their  more  cumbrous 
trucks.  "  But  I  need  not  say  anything  to  you,"  he 
added ;  "  you  know  how  to  beat  those  fellows." 
Passing  on,  he  exclaimed,  with  a  smile  of  recog- 
nition, "  Ah !  here  are  the  Newport  boys !  they 
will  do  their  duty,  I  warrant  !"* 

A  dead  silence  of  an  hour  and  a  half  succeed- 
ed, during  which  our  squadron  continued  slowly  to 
approach  the  enemy,  steering  for  the  head  of  his 
line  on  a  course  forming  about  half  a  right  angle 
with  it,  the  headmost  vessels  under  easy  sail,  the 
others  with  everything  set.  Every  preparation 
for  battle  had  been  long  since  made.  The  inter- 
val of  inactivity,  so  trying  to  the  warrior,  was 
passed  in  silence,  or  in  low  and  brief  requests, 
among  officers  and  men,  to  render  to  each  other,  in 
case  of  death,  some  office  of  friendship,  the  survi- 
ver  to  take  charge  of  the  effects  of  the  deceased^ 
or  to  break  to  his  relations  the  news  of  their  be- 

*  What  would  he  have  given  at  this  moment  for  all  the 
"Newport  boys"  who  had  accompanied  him  to  Ontario,  and 
more  than  half  of  whom  had  been  detained  there  ;  those  "  New- 
port boys"  of  whom  he  had  written  to  the  secretary,  when  of- 
fering his  services  for  the  lakes,  "  There  are  fifty  or  sixty  men 
tinder  my  command  that  are  remarkably  active  and  strong,  capa- 
ble of  performing  any  service.  In  the  hope  that  I  should  have 
the  honour  of  commanding  them  whenever  they  should  meet  the 
enemy,  I  have  taken  unwearied  pains  in  preparing  them  for  such 
an  event,  I  beg,  therefore,  sir,  that  we  may  be  employed  in 
some  way  in  which  we  can  be  serviceable  to  our  country." 


OLIVER     HAZARD    PERRY.  231 

reavement.  Perry  gave  Mr.  Hambleton,  who 
stood  near  him  in  charge  of  the  after  guns,  direc- 
tions how  to  act  with  regard  to  his  private  affairs 
in  the  event  of  his  death.  He  leaded  his  pubhc 
papers  in  readiness  to  be  thrown  overboard,  and 
destroyed  his  private  ones.  "  It  appeared,"  says 
Mr.  Hambleton,  "  to  go  hard  with  him  to  part 
with  his  wife's  letters.  After  giving  them  a  hasty 
reading,  he  tore  them  to  ribands,  observing  that, 
let  what  would  happen,  the  enemy  should  not  read 
them,  and  closed  by  remarking, '  this  is  the  most 
important  day  of  my  life.'  " 

The  suspense,  though  long,  had  its  end.  Sud- 
denly a  bugle  was  heard  to  sound  on  board  the 
Detroit,  the  signal  for  loud  and  concerted  cheers 
throughout  the  British  squadron.  Soon  after,  be- 
ing a  quarter  before  meridian,  the  enemy's  flag 
ship  Detroit,  then  distant  about  a  mile  and  a  half, 
commenced  the  action  by  firing  a  single  shot  at 
the  Lawrence,  w^hich  did  not  take  effect.  Signal 
was  now  made  for  each  vessel  to  engage  her  op- 
ponent, as  designated  in  previous  orders.  At  this 
time  the  Ariel,  Scorpion,  Lawrence,  Caledonia, 
and  Niagara  were  all  in  their  respective  stations, 
in  the  order  they  are  named,  distant  from  each 
other  about  half  a  cable's  length.  The  other  ves- 
sels, not  sailing  quite  so  well,  were  a  little  out  of 
their  stations  astern.  In  addition  to  the  inferiority 
of  our  force,  we  had  a  serious  disadvantage  from 


232  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

its  being  broken  up  into  greater  numbers.  The 
line  of  battle  prescribed  half  a  cable's  length  for 
the  distance  of  the  vessels  from  each  other,  the 
least,  probably,  that  could  have  been  adopted. 
Hence,  having  three  more  vessels  than  the  enemy, 
our  line  necessarily  overspread  his  not  less  than  one 
thousand  feet.  Thus,  besides  all  the  other  disad- 
vantages of  the  inferior  size  of  our  vessels,  the  en- 
emy could  bring  to  bear  Upon  them  a  heavier  bat^ 
tery  in  a  smaller  space,  and  thus,  being  stronger 
at  any  given  point,  had  a  greater  superiority  even 
than  his  nominal  one. 

The  second  shot  from  a  long  gun  of  the  De- 
troit, five  minutes  later  than  the  first,  took  effect 
on  the  Lawrence  as  she  fanned  down  towards  the 
enemy,  passing  through  both  bulwarks,  when  fire 
was  also  opened  from  the  long  guns  of  all  the 
British  squadron,  which,  as  they  lay  drawn  up  in 
line  of  battle,  did  not  materially  differ  in  distance 
from  the  Lawrence  and  the  two  schooners  on  her 
weather  bow.  At  five  minutes  before  meridian, 
the  Lawrence,  beginning  to  suffer  considerably 
from  the  enemy's  fire,  returned  it  from  her  long 
twelve  pounder,  when  the  schooners  on  the  weath- 
er bow,  being  ordered  by  trumpet  to  commence 
the  action,  and  the  Caledonia  and  Niagara  astern, 
likewise  opened  their  fire  with  their  long  guns. 
The  sternmost  vessels  soon  after  opened  also,  but 
at  too  great  a  distance  to  do  much  injury. 


OLIVER  hazarAiP^ry.  233^ 

Owing  to  the  superiority  of  i^(^j>emy  i] 
guns — the  entire  armament  of  tno^etroit 
the  exception  of  two  carronades,  being^f^J 
scription — this  cannonade  was  greatly  to  the  disad- 
vantage of  the  Lawrence,  against  which  the  Brit- 
ish fire  was  chiefly  directed.  In  order  to  hasten 
the  moment  when  his  carronades  would  take  ef- 
fect, and  enable  him  to  return  more  fully  the  fire 
of  the  enemy,  Perry  now  made  all  sail  again,  and 
ordered  the  word  to  be  passed  by  trumpet  for  the 
vessels  astern  to  close  up  and  take  their  stations. 
The  order  was  responded  to  and  transmitted  along 
the  line  by  Captain  Elliott,  of  the  Niagara,  whose 
vessel  was  stationed  next  but  one  astern  of  the 
Lawrence,  and  was  therefore,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  action,  quite  near  the  commodore, 
and  in  a  position  to  accompany  him  in  closing 
with  the  enemy.  The  Niagara  did  not,  however, 
make  sail  with  the  Lawrence,  and  accompany  her 
down  into  close  action,  but  continued  at  long 
shots,  using  only  her  long  twelve-pounder. 

Meantime,  the  Lawrence  fanned  slowly  down 
towards  the  enemy,  suffering  terribly.  At  merid- 
ian, supposing  himself  within  range  of  the  car- 
ronades, he  luffed  up  and  fired  the  first  division 
on  the  starboard  side.  Discovering  that  his  shot 
did  not  tell,  he  bore  away  again,  and  continued 
steadily  to  approach  the  enemy  until  a  quarter  past 
meridian,  when  he  opened  his  whole  starboard 
U2 


234  AMERICAN    BIOOUAPHT. 

broadside,  and  still  continued  to  approach  until 
within  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  yards,  when 
he  hauled  up  on  a  course  parallel  to  that  of  the 
enemy,  and  opened  a  rapid  and  most  destructive 
fire  on  the  Detroit.  So  steady  had  been  the  ap- 
proach of  the  Lawrence  in  bearing  down,  and  so 
unwavering  the  purpose  of  her  commander,  that 
the  enemy  had  apprehended  an  intention  to  board. 
Captain  Perry's  only  object  had  been  to  get  the  en- 
emy within  effective  reach  of  his  carronades,  who 
hitherto  had  derived  great  advantage  from  his 
superiority  in  long  guns ;  and  a  half  hour  of  al- 
most unresisted  cannonade  upon  the  Lawrence, 
from  twenty  long  guns  w^hich  the  British  squadron 
showed  on  one  side  in  battery,  caused  great  car- 
nage and  destruction  on  board  of  her.  Neverthe- 
less, the  action  was  now  commenced  from  her  with 
spirit  and  effect ;  and,  notwithstanding  the  over- 
powering odds  with  which  she  was  assailed,  the 
whole  battery  of  the  enemy,  amounting,  in  all,  to 
thirty-four  guns,*  being  almost  entirely  directed 
against  her,  she  continued  to  assail  the  enemy 
with  steady  and  unwavering  effort.  In  this  un- 
equal contest  she  was  nobly  sustained  by  the  Scor- 
pion and  Ariel  on  her  weather  bow,  which,  bein^ 
but  slightly  noticed  by  the  enemy  or  injured  by 
his  shot,  were  enabled  to  direct  their  fire  upon  him 

*  The  enemy  had  a  pivot-gun  in  each  of  the  large  vessels  as 
well  as  the  small. 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRT.  235 

with  sure  aim  and  'v\ithout  interruption.  The 
commander  of  the  Caledonia,  animated  by  the 
same  gallant  spirit  and  sense  of  duty,  followed 
the  Lawrence  into  close  action,  and  closed  with 
her  antagonist,  the  Hunter  3  but  the  Niagara, 
which,  when  the  battle  began,  had  been  within 
hail  of  the  Lawrence,  did  not  follow  her  down 
towards  the  enemy's  line  so  as  to  encounter  her 
antagonist,  the  Queen  Charlotte.  She  had  not 
made  sail  when  the  Lawrence  did ;  but  got  em- 
barrassed with  the  Caledonia,  Instead  of  passing 
astern  and  to  leeward  of  her  to  close  with  the 
Queen  Charlotte,  which  was  next  to  the  Hunter. 
Captain  Elliott  hailed  the  Caledonia,  and  ordered 
Lieutenant  D.  Turner  to  bear  up  and  make  room 
for  him  to  pass.  Though  this  officer  was  in  the 
station  assigned  to  him  astern  of  the  Lawrence, 
and  pressing  down  to  engage  his  antagonist,  the 
brig  Hunter,  yet  he  obeyed  the  order  of  his  supe- 
rior, without  stopping  to  inquire  whether  that  su- 
perior, as  a  subordinate  like  himself,  had  a  right 
to  give  an  order  involving  a  change  in  the  order 
of  battle.  Lieutenant  Turner  at  once  put  his  helm 
up,  and  made  room  for  the  Niagara  by  bearing 
down  towards  the  enemy.  Captain  Elliott  did 
not,  however,  follow  in  the  Niagara,  but  sheered 
to  windward,  and,  by  brailing  up  his  jib  and  back- 
ing his  main  topsail,  balanced  the  efforts  of  his 
sails  so  as  to  keep  his  vessel  stationary,  and  pre- 


236  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

vent  her  approaching  the  enemy.  The  Niagara 
did  not,  therefore,  approach  the  enemy's  hne  near 
enough  to  use  her  carronades,  but  remained  at 
long  shots,  firing  only  her  long  twelve-pounder, 
doing  little  injury,  and  receiving  less  from  casual 
shots  aimed  at  the  Lawrence  and  Caledonia,  of 
which  she  was  partially  under  cover. 

At  half  past  twelve,  the  Queen  Charlotte,  find- 
ing that  she  could  not,  with  her  light  guns,  engage 
her  expected  antagonist,  the  Niagara,  on  account 
of  her  distance  off,  filled  her  main  topsail,  and, 
passing  the  Hunter,  closed  up  astern  of  the  Detroit, 
and  opened  her  fire  at  closer  quarters  upon  the 
Lawrence.  In  this  unequal  contest,  the  Lawrence 
continued  to  struggle  desperately  against  such  over- 
powering numbers.  The  first  division  of  the  star- 
board guns  was  directed  against  the  Detroit,  and 
the  second  against  the  Queen  Charlotte,  with  an 
occasional  shot  from  her  after  gun  at  the  Hunter, 
which  lay  on  her  quarter,  and  with  which  the 
Caledonia  continued  to  sustain  a  hot  though  un- 
equal engagement.  The  Scorpion  and  Ariel,  from 
their  stations  on  the  weather  bow  of  the  Law- 
rence, made  every  effort  that  their  inconsiderable 
force  allowed.  The  Niagara  had  taken  a  station, 
as  we  have  seen,  which  prevented  her  from  firing, 
except  with  her  long  gun,  on  the  sternmost  of  the 
enemy's  vessels.  The  small  vessels  at  the  rear  of 
our  own  line  were  too  remote  to  do  more  than 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      237 

keep  up  a  distant  cannonade  with  the  nearest  ves- 
sels of  the  enemy. 

Overwhelming  as  was  the  superiority  of  the 
force  directed  against  the  Lawrence,  being  in  the 
ratio  of  thirty-four  guns  to  her  ten  in  battery,  she 
continued,  with  the  aid  of  the  Scorpion,  Ariel,  and 
Caledonia,  to  sustam  the  contest  for  more  than  two 
hours,  her  fire  being  kept  up  with  uninterrupted 
spirit,  so  long  as  her  guns  continued  mounted  and 
in  order.  Never  was  the  advantage  of  thorough 
training  at  the  guns  more  exemplified  than  in  the 
case  of  the  Lawrence.  The  surgeon  remarks  that 
he  could  discover  no  perceptible  difference  in  the 
rapidity  of  the  firing  of  the  guns  over  his  head  du- 
ring the  action ;  throughout,  the  actual  firing  seem- 
ed as  rapid  as  in  exercise  before  the  battle.  By  this 
time,  however,  her  rigging  had  been  much  shot 
away,  and  was  hanging  down  or  towing  overboard, 
sails  torn  to  pieces,  spars  wounded  and  falling  upon 
deck,  braces  and  bowlines  cut,  so  as  to  render  it  im- 
possible to  trim  the  yards  or  keep  the  vessel  un- 
der control.  Such  was  the  condition  of  the  vessel 
aloft ;  on  deck  the  destruction  was  even  more  ter- 
rible. One  by  one  the  guns  were  dismounted, 
until  only  one  remained  that  could  be  fired ;  the 
bulwarks  were  so  entirely  beaten  in  that  the  ene- 
my's round  shot  passed  completely  through.  The 
slaughter  w^as  dreadful,  beyond  anything  recorded 
in  naval  history.    Of  one  hundred  well  men  who 


238  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

had  gone  into  action,  twenty-two  were  killed  and 
sixty-one  wounded.  The  killed  were  hastily  re- 
moved out  of  the  way  of  the  guns,  and  the  wound- 
ed passed  belo^v  and  crowded  together  on  the 
berth-deck.  It  was  impossible  for  Doctor  Parsons, 
the  assistant  surgeon  of  the  Lawrence,  the  only 
medical  officer  who  was  in  health  to  perform  duty 
in  the  squadron,  to  attend  to  such  a  press  of  wound- 
ed ;  bleeding  arteries  were  hastily  secured,  shat- 
tered limbs  supported  by  splints,  and  those  that 
were  nearly  severed  by  cannon-balls  hastily  re- 
moved. Owing  to  the  shallowness  of  these  ves- 
sels, the  wounded  were  necessarily  all  above  the 
water-line,  and  exposed  to  be  again  struck  by  can- 
non-balls passing  through  the  vessel's  side ;  thus, 
midshipman  Laub,  while  moving  away  from  the 
surgeon,  with  a  tourniquet  on  his  arm,  to  resume 
his  duties  upon  deck,  was  struck  by  a  cannon-ball, 
which  traversed  his  chest;  and  a  Narraganset  In- 
dian, named  Charles  Poughigh,  was  killed  in  like 
manner  by  a  cannon-ball  after  his  leg  had  been 
taken  off.  Perry  had  a  favourite  spaniel  on  board 
the  Lawrence,  which  had  been  left  in  a  state-room 
below  to  be  out  of  the  way.  The  confinement, 
the  noise,  and  the  groans  of  the  wounded,  terrified 
the  poor  animal,  and  at  each  discharge  it  growled 
and  barked  with  affected  rage,  or  howled  most 
piteously.  In  the  course  of  the  action,  a  shot 
passed  through  the  bulkhead  and  left  a  large  hole, 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  239 

through  which  the  dog  immediately  thrust  its  head, 
yelping  terribly  for  release.  Its  strange  manoeu- 
vres were  too  much  for  the  gravity  even  of  the  suf- 
fering w^ounded,  and  some  of  them  broke  forth  into 
loud  and  intemperate  laughter.  Meantime  Perry 
continued  to  keep  up  a  fire  from  his  single  remain- 
ing carronade,  though  to  man  it  he  was  obliged  to 
send  repeated  requests  to  the  surgeon  to  spare  him 
another  hand  from  those  engaged  in  removing  the 
wounded,  until  the  last  had  been  taken.  It  is  re- 
corded by  the  surgeon,  that  when  these  messages 
arrived,  several  of  the  wounded  crawled  upon  deck 
to  lend  a  feeble  aid  at  the  guns.  At  length  the 
commander's  own  personal  aid,  with  that  of  the 
purser,  Mr.  Hambleton,  and  chaplain,  Mr.  Breese, 
was  necessary  to  fire  this  sole  remaining  gun,  and 
it,  too,  was  at  last  disabled. 

The  conduct  of  Perry  throughout  this  trying 
scene  was  such  as  to  inspire  the  most  unbounded 
confidence  in  his  followers,  and  to  sustain  through- 
out their  courage  and  enthusiasm.  Free  from  ir- 
ritation and  undue  excitability,  the  necessary  or- 
ders were  given  with  precision,  and  obeyed  with 
steady  alacrity.  Undismayed  amid  the  surround- 
ing carnage,  calm,  collected,  and  even  cheerful, 
his  eye  became  the  rallying-point  to  which  those 
of  his  followers  reverted  after  each  new  disaster, 
and  received  from  its  electric  flash  a  kindred  en- 
couragement.     After   the  fearful   havoc   which 


2^  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

would  occasionally  be  made  among  a  gun's  crew 
by  a  single  round  shot,  or  a  stand  of  grape  or 
canister,  the  survivers  would  for  a  moment  turn 
to  Perry,  exchange  a  glance  with  him,  and  step 
into  the  places  of  their  comrades.  Those  that  lay 
weltering  on  the  deck,  some  in  the  agony  of  ex- 
piring nature,  would  contrive  to  get  their  faces 
towards  him,  and,  fixing  their  eye  upon  his,  seem 
to  seek,  as  an  only  reward  for  that  life's  blood 
which  was  ebbing  away  in  the  cause  of  their 
country,  an  assurance  that  they  had  done  their 
duty.  They  seemed  to  die  cheerfully  in  the  con- 
sciousness that,  if  they  had  fallen,  his  more  impor- 
tant life  was  still  spared  to  secure  the  triumph  of 
their  country. 

The  humane  heart  of  the  commander  could  not 
yield  to  the  painful  feelings  which  this  spectacle, 
under  other  circumstances,  would  have  rendered 
overpowering.  The  animating  sense  of  the  re- 
sponsibility that  weighed  upon  him,  and  confi- 
dence in  his  own  resources,  enabled  him  to  main- 
tain his  cheerfulness.  In  the  hottest  of  the  fight, 
Yarnall,  the  first  lieutenant,  came  to  Perry,  and 
told  him  that  the  officers  in  the  first  division  under 
his  command  were  all  killed  or  disabled.  Yar- 
nall had  received  a  wound  in  the  forehead  and 
another  in  the  neck,  from  which  the  blood  flowed 
profusely  over  his  face  and  person,  while  his  nose, 
which  had  been  struck  by  a  splinter,  was  swollen 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      241 

to  a  most  portentous  size.  Perry,  after  expressing 
some  good-humoured  astonishment  at  his  tragi- 
comical appearance,  sent  him  the  required  aid; 
but  soon  after  he  returned  with  the  same  com- 
plaint of  a  destruction  of  his  officers,  to  which 
he  replied,  "  You  must  endeavour  to  make  out  by 
yourself;  I  have  no  more  to  furnish  you."  In  ad- 
dition to  the  other  oddities  of  Yarnall's  appear- 
ance, some  of  the  hammocks  were  struck  in  the 
nettings,  and  the  contents  of  the  mattresses,  chiefly 
stuffed  with  the  down  of  flag-tops  or  cat-tails, 
were  distributed  in  the  air,  having  much  the  ap- 
pearance of  falling  snow.  This  substance,  light- 
ing on  Yarnall's  face  and  adhering  to  the  blood, 
gave  it,  as  Dr.  Parsons  describes  it,  the  appear- 
ance of  a  huge  owl.  When  he  went  below  at 
the  close  of  the  action,  even  the  wounded  were 
moved  to  merriment  by  his  ludicrous  appearance, 
and  one  of  them  exclaimed,  "  The  devil  is  come 
for  his  own." 

Another  incident  is  characteristic  of  the  calm 
cheerfulness  of  Perry  and  of  his  officers.  Dulany 
Forrest,  the  second  lieutenant,  w^as  standing  im- 
mediately beside  Perry,  attending  to  his  division, 
when  a  grape-shot  struck  him  in  the  breast,  and 
he  fell  upon  the  deck.  Perry  raised  him  up,  and, 
observing  no  appearance  of  injury — for  the  shot 
had  spent  its  force — uttered  some  cheering  assu- 
rance to  Forrest  that  he  could  not  be  hurt.  The 
X 


242  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

lieutenant,  who  had  only  been  stunned,  presently 
became  conscious;  and,  pulling  out  the  shot,  which 
had  lodged  in  the  bosom  of  his  waistcoat,  put  it 
quietly  in  his  pocket,  replying,  "  No,  sir,  I  am  not 
hurt,  but  this  is  my  shot !"  Several  cases  occurred, 
during  this  scene  of  carnage,  in  which  men  were 
shot  down  while  in  the  act  of  speaking  to  the 
commander.  One  of  these  was  that  of  a  captain 
of  a  gun,  which  was  somewhat  out  of  order,  whom 
Perry  had  approached  to  offer  assistance.  The 
sailor,  who  was  a  noble-looking  fellow,  being 
one  of  the  "Constitution's,"  was  in  the  act  of 
drawing  himself  up,  with  a  fine,  sailor-like  air,  to 
fire,  when  a  twenty-four  pound  shot  passed  through 
his  body,  and  he  fell  without  a  groan  at  the  feet  of 
his  commander. 

Another  incident  no  less  painfully  illustrates  the 
carnage  which  occurred  on  the  deck  of  the  Law- 
rence, and  the  destruction  by  which  her  command- 
er was  so  closely  surrounded.  The  command  of 
the  marines  of  the  Lawrence  was  intrusted  to 
Lieutenant  John  Brooks,  a  gay,  amiable,  and  in- 
telligent young  officer,  whose  numerous  good  qual- 
ities were  enhanced  in  their  effects  by  the  rarest 
personal  beauty.  He  was  addressing  Perry  with 
a  smile,  and  in  an  animated  tone,  with  regard  to 
the  battle,  when  a  cannon  ball  struck  him  in  the 
thigh,  shattering  him  in  the  most  horrible  manner, 
and  carrying  him  to  the  other  side  of  the  deck.' 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  243 

The  sudden  torment  of  his  wound  wrung  from  him 
piercing  cries.  He  implored  his  commander  to  re- 
lieve him  from  pain  too  great  for  endurance  by 
shooting  him  dead.  Perry  ordered  some  of  the 
marines  to  take  him  below.  Ere  this  could  be  ef- 
fected, a  mulatto  boy,  only  twelve  years  old,  who 
was  Brooks's  servant,  came  with  a  cartridge  to  a 
neighbouring  gun,  and,  seeing  Brooks  down,  threw 
himself  on  the  deck  with  frantic  cries,  exclaiming 
that  his  master  was  killed.  When  Brooks  was  ta- 
ken below,  he  returned  sobbing  to  his  duty.  One 
occurrence  for  a  moment  during  the  action  disturb- 
ed the  settled  equanimity  of  Perry.  He  beheld 
his  young  brother,  then  but  twelve  years  old,  who 
had  already,  during  the  action,  received  two  mus- 
ket balls  through  his  hat,  and  had  his  clothes  torn 
by  splinters,  suddenly  struck  down  at  his  side  by 
a  hammock  torn  from  the  nettings  by  a  cannon 
ball.  Fortunately,  the  shot  itself  had  missed  him. 
He  was  only  stunned ;  and,  in  a  few  moments,  his 
anxious  brother  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  him 
return  to  his  duty. 

At  length,  about  half  past  two,  when  the  last 
gun  of  the  Lawrence  had  become  disabled  and  un- 
fit for  farther  use — when,  of  all  his  crew,  Captain 
Perry  could  only  find  throughout  his  vessel  eigh- 
teen persons,  besides  his  little  brother  and  him- 
self, undisabled  by  wounds — it  became  evident  to 
him  that  he  must  have  recourse  to  other  means 


244  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

within  his  command  in  order  to  win  the  battle. 
Repeatedly  during  the  engagement,  Mr.  Taylor, 
whose  duty  as  sailing-master  placed  him  beside 
the  commander,  to  manoeuvre  the  Lawrence  under 
his  orders,  had  asked  Perry  if  he  observed  the 
conduct  of  the  Niagara,  which  was  lying  far  to 
windward,  out  of  reach  of  the  Queen  Charlotte, 
her  antagonist,  and  the  very  different  conduct  of 
the  little  Caledonia,  which  had  so  gallantly  borne 
down  to  relieve  the  Lawrence  from  the  enemy's 
fire.  Similar  remarks  were  made  among  them- 
selves by  the  officers  and  crew.  The  wounded, 
as  they  went  below,  and  were  asked  for  news  of 
how  the  day  was  going,  each  had  the  same  tale  to 
relate  of  the  Niagara  keeping  aloof  and  failing  to 
relieve  the  Lawrence  from  the  fire  of  the  Queen 
Charlotte.  As,  then,  the  last  gun  of  the  Lawrence 
became  useless,  and  the  ship,  now  an  unmanage- 
able wreck,  was  beginning  to  drop  astern.  Captain 
Perry  was  looking  round,  as  the  smoke  cleared 
away,  to  estimate  the  real  condition  of  his  resour- 
ces, when  Lieutenant  Forrest  again  called  his  at- 
tention to  the  strange  manoeuvres  of  the  Niagara, 
at  this  time  on  the  larboard  beam  of  the  Lawrence, 
directly  opposite  to  the  enemy,  while  the  Caledonia 
was  passing  the  starboard  beam  between  the  Law- 
rence and  the  enemy.  "  That  brig,"  said  Forrest, 
"  will  not  help  us  ;  see  how  he  keeps  off;  he  will 
not  come  to  close  action."    "  Pll  fetch  him  up," 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRT.  245 

was  the  commodore's  reply ;  and  he  immediately 
ordered  his  boat.  He  remarked  that  the  Niagara 
did  not  appear  to  be  much  injured,  and  that  the 
American  flag  should  not  be  hauled  down  from 
over  his  head  on  that  day.  Giving  Mr.  Yarnall 
command  of  the  Lawrence,  Perry  stepped  down 
the  larboard  gangway  into  his  boat,  telling  his  of- 
ficers, as  he  shoved  off,  with  the  prophetic  confi- 
dence of  a  hero  conscious  of  his  powers, "  K  a  vic- 
tory is  to  be  gained,  I'll  gain  it !" 

At  half  past  two,  when  Perry  left  the  Lawrence, 
the  Niagara  was  passing  her  weather  or  larboard 
beam  at  the  distance  of  nearly  half  a  mile.  The 
breeze  had  freshened,  her  main  topsail  was  filled, 
and  she  was  passing  the  British  squadron  rap- 
idly. Elated  with  the  prospect  of  getting  on 
board  of  this  fresh  vessel,  and  trying  his  prowess 
upon  the  host  of  enemies,  whose  efficiency  his  pre- 
vious desperate  resistance  had  essentially  diminish- 
ed, he  went  off  in  gallant  style  and  full  of  ardour 
from  the  Lawrence,  standing  erect  in  his  boat,  and 
urging  his  crew  to  give  way  cheerily.  The  ene- 
my, observing  this  movement,  quickly  penetrated 
his  design ;  and  apprehending  the  consequences  of 
the  Niagara,  then  entirely  fresh,  passing  under  the 
immediate  command  of  the  superior  officer,  who 
had  fought  the  Lawrence  with  such  skill  and  ob- 
stinacy against  the  whole  British  squadron  for 
more  than  two  hours  and  a  half,  they  immediately 
X2 


246  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

directed  a  fire  of  great  guns  and  musketry  at  his 
boat,  and  exerted  all  their  energies  to  destroy 
it.  Several  of  the  oars  were  splintered,  the  boat 
was  traversed  by  musket  balls,  and  the  crew  cov- 
ered with  spray  from  the  round  shot  and  grape 
that  were  striking  the  water  on  every  side.  Per- 
ry, unconscious  or  unmindful  of  the  danger,  con- 
tinued to  stand  erect,  until  his  brave  crew  im- 
plored him  not  to  expose  himself;  and,  losing  for 
a  moment  their  sense  of  subordination  in  sympa- 
thy for  his  danger  and  anxiety  for  the  perilled 
glory  of  their  country,  threatened  to  lay  upon  their 
oar  unless  he  sat  down.  Thus  entreated,  he  yield- 
ed to  their  wishes;  and  they  gave  way  with  a 
hearty  good-will.  The  breeze  had  now  freshened, 
and  the  Niagara,  having  set  her  foresail,  was 
ranging  rapidly  past  the  enemy,  in  a  direction 
which  would  soon  have  carried  her  entirely  out 
of  the  action.  With  all  the  exertions  of  the  boat's 
crew,  nearly  fifteen  minutes  were  passed  in  reach- 
ing the  Niagara. 

By  none  of  the  squadron  was  this  critical  move- 
ment so  anxiously  watched  as  by  the  fourteen 
brave  fellows  who  alone  remained  unhurt  of  the 
officers  and  crew  of  the  Lawrence ;  the  life  of 
their  beloved  commander,  tenfold  endeared  to 
them  by  their  recent  observance  of  his  heroism ; 
the  fate  of  the  day ;  the  glory  of  their  country ; 
and  their  own  condition  as  prisoners  or  victors, 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  247 

all  dependant  on  that  life,  wrought  their  feelings 
to  the  most  intense  and  painful  sympathy.  Pow- 
erless to  do  anything  for  their  own  protection  or 
for  the  farther  annoyance  of  the  enemy,  they 
clustered  along  the  weather  bulwarks  of  the  Law- 
rence, and  watched  each  dip  of  the  oars  that  were 
carrying  Perry  along  at  a  rate  which  seemed  slow 
to  their  impatience :  each  ball  that  seemed  des- 
tined to  destroy  him  would  have  been  more  wel- 
come to  themselves.  But  he  moved  on  unscathed, 
as  amid  the  wreck  of  the  Lawrence.  And  now 
they  see  him  cross  the  gangway  of  the  Niagara, 
and  their  joy  bursts  forth  in  enthusiastic  cheers. 

The  feelings  of  the  few  survivers  and  wounded 
of  the  Lawrence  were  thus  relieved  from  a  pain- 
ful solicitude  amounting  to  agony.  They  felt  that 
all  was  now  safe,  and  that  they  had  not  fought, 
nor  their  less  fortunate  shipmates  bled  and  died  in 
vain.  While  this  crisis  had  absorbed  them,  the 
brig,  with  her  colours  still  flying,  had  continued 
to  be  a  principal  object  for  the  enemy's  fire.  It 
became  the  duty  of  lieutenant  Yarnall,  as  com- 
mander, to  spare  the  farther  destruction  of  the 
brave  fellows  intrusted  to  him,  and  the  frightful 
slaughter  of  the  wounded  below.  He  had  a  brief 
consultation  with  the  second  lieutenant,  Dulany 
Forrest,  and  Sailing-master  W.  V.  Taylor,  and, 
with  their  concurrence,  determined  to  surrender. 
It  may  be  here  remarked  that  all  three  of  these 


248  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

officers  were  wounded,  though  continuing  at  their 
posts.  The  colours  were  therefore  hauled  down. 
Their  descent  was  greeted  by  cheers  from  all  the 
British  vessels,  the  crews  of  which  appeared  ex- 
idtingly  on  their  weather  bulwarks,  waving  tri- 
umphant defiance  at  their  enemies.  But  the  hope 
was  delusive.  The  first  act  was  over,  and  its  close 
had  imparted  to  the  British  an  unsubstantial  en- 
couragement ;  the  second  was  to  terminate  in  a 
catastrophe  not  less  brilliant  than  they  might  have 
anticipated,  but  far  different.  On  the  berth-deck 
of  the  Lawrence,  the  explanation  of  the  British 
cheers  by  the  surrender  of  their  vessel  had  filled 
the  hearts  of  the  wounded,  with  which  the  deck 
was  literally  covered,  with  the  deepest  despond- 
ency. The  assistance  of  the  humane  and  indefat- 
igable young  surgeon  was  rejected,  and  scarcely 
any  exclamations  met  his  ear  but  "  Sink  the  ship  ! 
Let  us  all  sink  together !"  Such  is  the  desire  to 
conquer,  such  the  heroism  of  Americans,  when 
trained  and  inspired  by  a  hero.  It  was  in  the 
midst  of  this  despondency  that  the  chivalrous 
young  Brooks,  whose  hfe-blood  had  been  fast 
ebbing  away,  breathed  forth  a  spirit  worthy  of  the 
fair  temple  in  which  it  was  enshrined.  Mr.  Sam- 
uel Hambleton,  purser  of  the  Lawrence,  who  had 
preferred  a  post  of  danger  on  deck  to  the  usual 
station  of  his  grade  in  charge  of  passing  powder 
below,  had  received  a  severe  wound  in  the  shoul- 


OLIVER  HAZAED  PERRY.      249 

der,  by  which  it  was  completely  shattered,  while 
working  by  the  side  of  his  noble  commander, 
like  a  common  sailor,  at  the  last  gun.  For  want 
of  space  in  the  wardroom,  Hambleton  was  laid 
on  the  same  mattress  with  Brooks,  face  to  face 
with  his  dying  messmate  and  friend.  The  in- 
tense suffering  which  had  impelled  him,  in  the 
first  moment  of  being  struck,  to  ask  for  death  at 
the  hand  of  his  commander,  had  passed  away,  and 
he  lay  calmly  expecting  his  end.  Never  before 
had  Hambleton  been  so  much  impressed  with  his 
surpassing  beauty.  While  the  fever  from  his 
wound  had  imparted  a  surprising  lustre  to  his 
ordinarily  radiant  countenance,  its  expression  gave 
the  idea  of  a  spirit  sublimated  by  approaching  re- 
lease from  the  burden  of  mortality.  The  glory 
of  his  country,  the  welfare  of  his  friends — feelings 
worthy  of  angels — were  still  uppermost  in  his 
thoughts.  He  inquired,  with  earnest  solicitude, 
how  the  battle  went,  and  as  to  the  fate  of  Perry. 
The  Lawrence  had  surrendered;  but  Perry  had 
reached  the  Niagara,  to  bring  her  up  to  take  her 
share  in  the  battle,  which,  earlier  taken,  might  have 
spared  so  many  lives.  Brooks  briefly  directed  the 
disposition  of  his  affairs,  the  messages  to  be  sent 
to  his  father  and  friends,  and  commended  his  faiths 
ful  mulatto  boy  to  their  protection  and  kindness. 
While  he  was  yet  speaking  in  a  failing  tone,  Ham- 
bleton's  attention  was  diverted  by  favourable  news 


250  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

from  deck,  and  the  tumultuous  excitement  of  joy 
which  it  occasioned  among  the  wounded.  When 
he  turned  to  communicate  it  to  Brooks,  his  spirit 
had  departed. 

But  the  enemy  had  other  employment  than  to 
take  possession  of  the  surrendered  Lawrence.  As 
Perry  reached  the  deck  of  the  Niagara,  he  was 
met  at  the  gangway  by  Captain  Elliott,  who  "  in- 
quired how  the  day  was  going.  Captain  Perry 
replied,  badly  :  that  he  had  lost  almost  all  of  his 
men,  and  that  his  ship  was  a  wreck ;  and  asked 
what  the  gunboats  were  doing  so  far  astern.  Cap- 
tain Elhott  offered  to  go  and  bring  them  up ;  and, 
Captain  Perry  consenting,  he  sprung  into  the  boat 
and  went  off  on  that  duty."* 

Perry's  first  order  on  board  the  Niagara  was 
to  back  the  main  topsail,  and  stop  her  from  run- 
ning out  of  the  action ;  his  next,  to  brail  up  the 
main  trysail,  put  the  helm  up,  and  bear  down 
before  the  wind,  with  squared  yards,  for  the  en- 
emy, altering  the  course  from  that  which  Cap- 
tain Elliott  had  been  steering  a  whole  right  an- 

*  The  above  account  of  the  interview  between  Captain  Perry 
and  Captain  Elliott  is  taken  from  Mr.  Hambleton's  journal,  as 
related  to  him  by  Perry  on  the  evening  of  the  battle.  The 
reader  will  see  in  the  sequel  how  differently  the  interview  is  de- 
scribed by  Captain  Elliott.  Perry  also  told  Mr.  Hambleton  in 
the  evening  that  he  "  found  the  Niagara  in  perfect  fighting  or- 
der, uninjured  in  her  hull  or  crew.  *  From  that  moment,'  said 
he,  •  I  was  confident  of  victory.'  " 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  251 

gle ;  at  the  same  time,  he  set  top-gallant-sails,  and 
hove  out  the  signal  for  close  action.  As  the  an- 
swering pendants  were  displayed  along  the  line, 
the  order  was  greeted  by  hearty  cheers,  evincive 
of  the  admiration  awakened  throughout  the  squad- 
ron by  the  hardy  manoeuvre  of  the  Niagara,  and 
of  renewed  confidence  of  victory.  By  great  ef- 
forts. Lieutenant  Holdup  Stevens,  who  had  been 
astern  of  the  line  in  the  Trippe,  soon  closed  up 
to  the  assistance  of  the  Caledonia,  and  the  re- 
maining vessels  approached  rapidly,  to  take  a 
more  active  part  in  the  batde,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  increasing  breeze. 

The  helm  had  been  put  up  on  board  the  Niag- 
ara, sail  made,  and  the  signal  for  close  action  hove 
out  at  forty-five  minutes  after  two,  the  instant  af- 
ter Perry  had  boarded  her.  With  the  increased 
breeze,  seven  or  eight  minutes  sufficed  to  traverse 
the  distance  of  more  than  half  a  mile  which 
still  separated  the  Niagara  from  the  enemy.  As 
the  enemy  beheld  her  coming  boldly  down,  re- 
serving her  fire  until  it  could  be  delivered  with 
terrible  effect,  they  poured  theirs  in  upon  her  in  a 
raking  position,  and  the  Detroit  made  an  effort  to 
wear  in  order  to  present  her  starboard  broadside 
to  the  Niagara,  several  of  the  larboard  guns  being 
disabled.  As  this  evolution  commenced  on  board 
the  Detroit,  the  Queen  Charlotte  was  running  up 
under  her  lee.     The  evolution  of  wearing,  which 


552  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

should  properly  have  commenced  with  the  stern- 
most  and  leewardmost  vessel,  not  having  been 
imitated  with  sufficient  quickness  by  the  Queen, 
the  consequence  was,  that  the  latter  ran  her  bow- 
sprit and  head  booms  into  the  mizzen  rigging  of 
the  Detroit,  and  the  two  British  ships  got  foul  of 
each  other,  and  continued  in  this  unfortunate  pre- 
dicament, when  the  Niagara,  having  shortened  sail 
to  check  her  velocity,  passed  slowly  under  the 
bows  of  the  Detroit,  within  half  pistol-shot,  and 
poured  into  both  vessels,  as  they  lay  entangled,  a 
deadly  and  awfully  destructive  fire  of  grape  and 
canister ;  the  larboard  guns,  which  were  likewise 
manned,  were  directed  with  equally  murderous 
effect  into  the  sterns  of  the  Lady  Prevost,  which 
had  passed  to  the  head  of  the  line,  and  the  Little 
Belt ;  the  marines,  at  the  same  time,  cleared  their 
decks  of  every  one  to  be  seen  above  the  rails. 
The  piercing  shrieks  of  the  mortally  wounded  on 
every  side  showed  how  terrific  had  been  the  car- 
nage. Passing  under  the  lee  of  the  two  British 
ships,  which  had  now  got  clear,  but  were  but 
slightly  separated.  Captain  Perry,  brought  by  the 
wind  on  the  starboard  tack,  with  his  head  to  the 
northward  and  eastward,  and  backing  the  Niag- 
ara's main  topsail  to  deaden  her  headway,  contin- 
ued to  pour  his  starboard  broadside  into  the  Queen 
Charlotte  and  the  Hunter,  which  lay  astern  of  her. 
Some  of  his  shots  passed  through  the  Queen  Char- 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      253 

lotte's  ports  into  the  Detroit.  At  this  juncture  the 
small  vessels  also  came  into  close  action  to  wind- 
ward, and  poured  in  a  destructive  lire  of  grape 
and  canister ;  their  shot  and  that  of  the  Niagara, 
whenever  it  missed  its  mark,  passing  the  enemy^ 
and  taking  effect  reciprocally  on  our  own  vessels. 

All  resistance  now  ceased:  an  officer  appear- 
ed on  the  taffrail  of  the  Queen,  to  signify  that 
she  had  struck ;  and  her  example  was  immediately 
followed  by  the  Detroit.  Both  vessels  struck  in 
about  seven  minutes  after  the  Niagara  opened  this 
most  destructive  fire,  and  about  fifteen  minutes 
after  Perry  took  command  of  her.  The  Hunter 
struck  at  the  same  time,  as  did  the  Lady  Prevost, 
which  lay  to  leeward  under  the  guns  of  the  Ni- 
agara. 

The  battle  had  begun  on  the  part  of  the  enemy 
at  a  quarter  before  meridian ;  at  three  the  Queen 
Charlotte  and  Detroit  surrendered,  and  all  resist- 
ance was  at  an  end.  As  the  cannonade  ceased 
and  the  smoke  blew  over,  the  two  squadrons,  now 
owning  one  master,  were  found  completely  min- 
gled. The  shattered  Lawrence,  whose  condition 
sufficiently  attested  where  had  been  the  brunt  and 
burden  of  the  day,  lay  to  windward,  a  tattered  and 
helpless  wreck,  with  the  flag  of  liberty  once  more 
flying  over  her ;  the  Niagara,  with  the  signal  for 
close  action  still  set,  lay  close  under  the  lee  of  the 
Detroit,  Queen  Charlotte,  and  Hunter ',  the  Cale- 
Y 


254  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

donia,  Scorpion,  and  Trippe,  which  had  gallantly 
followed  the  Niagara  through  the  enemy's  line, 
had  taken  a  position  to  leeward  very  favourable 
for  preventing  the  enemy's  escape.  As  the  smoke 
passed  to  leeward,  the  Chippeway  and  Little  Belt 
were  discovered  bearing  up  towards  Maiden  un- 
der a  press  of  sail.  The  Scorpion  and  Trippe 
went  immediately  in  pursuit,  and,  after  a  few 
shots,  compelled  them  to  surrender. 

And  now  began  the  proud  yet  melancholy  task 
of  taking  possession  of  the  enemy's  ships.  On 
boarding  the  Detroit,  the  officer  sent  from  the  Ni- 
agara found  her  in  a  condition  only  less  pitiable 
than  the  Lawrence  had  been  left  in  by  Perry ;  her 
gaft  and  mizzen  topmast  hanging  over  the  taffi-ail 
and  quarter ;  her  masts  and  yards  badly  wounded ; 
all  her  braces  shot  away,  not  a  single  stay  stand- 
ing forward,  and  her  stout  oak  bulwarks  very 
much  shattered.  Many  of  the  thirty-two  pound 
shots  were  sticking  in  her  side :  they  had  been 
fired  from  the  carronades  before  the  Lawrence 
had  got  to  close  quarters.  On  deck  the  destruc- 
tion and  carnage  had  been  terrible  :  many  of  the 
guns  Avere  dismounted,  and  the  deck  was  strewed 
with  the  killed  and  wounded,  and  slippery  with 
blood.  The  deck  was  found  nearly  deserted  of 
officers  and  men,  and  in  charge  of  the  second 
lieutenant,  Mr.  Inglis,  the  first  lieutenant  hav- 
ing been  killed  towards  the  middle  of  the  ac- 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      265 

tion,  and  Commodore  Barclay  having  been  most 
dangerously  wounded  somewhat  earlier  by  a  grape 
shot  in  the  thigh.  This  heroic  officer,  after  hav- 
ing been  carried  below  and  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  surgeon,  made  use  of  the  first  moment  of 
returning  consciousness  to  cause  himself  to  be 
again  borne  upon  deck.  When  the  Niagara  bore 
down  and  delivered  her  raking  fire,  he  received  a 
second  grape  shot  in  the  right  shoulder,  which, 
entering  below  the  joint,  broke  the  blade  to  pie- 
ces, and  left  a  large  and  dreadful  wound.  It  is 
said  that  when,  towards  the  close  of  the  action, 
a  message  was  sent  down  to  this  heroic  officer  that 
the  day  was  lost,  he  caused  himself  to  be  carried 
once  more  on  deck,  to  convince  himself  that  far- 
ther resistance  was  impossible  and  would  be  un- 
availing. 

The  other  British  vessels  were  found  to  be  also 
much  cut  to  pieces,  especially  the  Queen  Char- 
lotte, w^hich  had  lost  her  brave  commander,  Cap- 
tain Finnis,  ver}'  early  in  the  action;  her  first 
lieutenant  had  been  soon  after  mortally  wounded, 
and  the  loss  of  life  on  board  of  her  was  very  se- 
vere ;  she  was  also  much  cut  to  pieces  both  in 
hull  and  spars.  The  other  vessels  suffered  in  like 
proportion ;  the  Lady  Prevost  had  both  her  com- 
mander and  first  lieutenant  wounded,  and,  besides 
other  extensive  injury,  was  become  unmanageable 
from  the  loss  of  her  rudder ;  Lieutenants  Bignal, 


256  AMERICAN     BIOGRAPHY. 

commanding  the  Hunter,  and  Campbell,  the  Chip- 
peway,  were  also  wounded ;  thus  leaving  only  the 
commander  of  the  Little  Belt  fit  for  duty  at  the 
close  of  the  action.  Indeed,  in  the  official  ac- 
count of  Commodore  Barclay,  it  is  stated  that  ev- 
ery commander,  and  every  officer  second  in  com- 
mand, was  disabled.  The  total  of  killed  and 
wounded  rendered  by  Commodore  Barclay  in  his 
official  report  were  forty-one  killed,  including  three 
office^',  and  ninety-four  wounded,  nine  of  whom 
were  officers.  The  returns,  on  account  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  commanders  and  their  seconds  in  com- 
mand, could  not  have  been  very  complete,  and  the 
numbers  of  killed  and  wounded  are  believed  to 
have  been  greater.  The  killed  of  the  British 
squadron  were  thrown  overboard  as  they  fell,  with 
the  exception  of  the  officers. 

The  feeling  which  the  spectacle  of  these  prizes 
awakened  in  the  minds  of  the  victors  had  in  it  as 
much  of  sorrow  as  of  exultation.  The  ruined 
and  tattered  condition  of  that  squadron,  which, 
three  short  hours  before,  had  presented  itself  in 
such  proud  array,  beginning  the  action,  and  hurl- 
ing death  and  defiance  at  those  who,  with  inferior 
force,  had  ventured  to  brave  the  power  of  Eng- 
land ;  and,  still  more,  the  spectacle  of  bloodshed 
and  agony  which  they  everywhere  presented  with- 
in, after  the  excitement  of  battle  was  over,  could 
not  but  overwhelm  the  mind  with  gloom,  and 


OLIVER     HAZARP    PERRY.  257 

make  way  once  more  for  the  indulgence  of  those 
humane  sympathies  which  had  been  smothered  in 
the  strife  of  conflict.  Nor  did  our  own  ships  fail 
to  exhibit  scenes  well  suited  to  harrow  the  feel- 
ings ;  the  Lawrence  especially  presented  an  aw- 
ful spectacle.  As  has  been  already  stated,  twen- 
ty-two of  her  crew  were  killed  and  sixty-one 
wounded,  making  an  aggregate  of  slaughter  which 
is  believed  never  to  have  been  surpassed  in  any 
modern  naval  combat,  unless  where  the  conquered 
vessel  has  sunk  with  her  whole  crew.  The  Niag- 
ara lost  two  killed  and  twenty-three  wounded ;  all 
but  two  of  the  wounded  having  been  struck  after 
Captain  Perry  took  command  of  her,  as  stated  by 
the  surgeon  who  attended  them.  Three  were 
wounded  on  board  of  the  Caledonia;  two  on 
board  the  Somers;  one  killed  and  three  wound- 
ed on  board  the  Ariel ;  two  killed  on  board  the 
Scorpion ;  and  two  wounded  on  board  the  Trippe ; 
making  an  aggregate  in  the  whole  squadron 
of  twenty-seven  killed  and  ninety-six  wounded. 
Among  our  killed  we  had  to  mourn  the  loss  of 
Lieutenant  John  Brooks  and  Midshipman  Laub  on 
board  the  Lawrence ;  and  of  Midshipman  John 
Clark  on  board  the  Scorpion.  Lieutenants  Yar- 
nall  and  Forrest,  Sailing-master  Taylor,  Purser 
Hambleton,  Midshipmen  Swartout  and  Claxton, 
and  Mr.  Stone,  carpenter,  were  wounded  on  board 
the  Lawrence,  and  Lieutenant  Edwards  and  Mid- 
Y2 


258  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

sljipman  Cummings  were  wounded  on  board  the 
Niagara.  Two  of  the  schooners,  the  Tigress  and 
Porcupine,  had  no  casualties  whatever;  and,  as 
the  Trippe  and  Somers  had  each  but  two  wound- 
ed, it  shows  that,  notwithstanding  the  great  efforts 
made  by  their  commanders  to  close  up,  they  were 
unable  to  take  an  important  part  in  the  battle  un- 
til just  before  the  enemy  struck.  The  Trippe, 
though  originally  the  last  in  the  line,  from  her 
superior  sailing,  and  the  great  exertions  of  her 
commander.  Lieutenant  Holdup  Stevens,  was  the 
first  of  the  four  sternmost  vessels  to  get  into  close 
action.  From  the  enemy's  awaiting  the  attack 
in  a  compact  line  of  battle,  his  vessels  were  all 
equally  available  from  the  first ;  and,  accordingly, 
the  destruction  on  board  of  them,  from  their  want 
of  bulwarks,  was  more  severe  than  in  his  heavy 
vessels.  Hence,  in  addition  to  the  actual  inferi- 
ority of  our  force,  the  disparity  was  farther  in- 
creased during  the  action  by  its  being  fought  by 
the  whole  of  the  British  force,  and  only  a  part  of 
ours. 

The  splendour  of  this  victory  dazzles  the  ima- 
gination. It  was  gained  by  a  portion  of  an  infe- 
rior squadron  over  another  eveiy  way  superior, 
and  throughout  the  action  concentrated  in  its 
force.  It  was  gained,  more  eminently  than  any 
other  naval  victory,  by  the  exertions  of  one  indi- 
vidual, a  young  man  of  twenty-seven,  who  had 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  259 

never  beheld  a  naval  engagement.  He  had  dashed 
boldly  into  action  with  the  Lawrence,  counting 
upon  the  support  of  those  immediately  around 
him,  and  trusting  that  the  rear  of  his  line  would 
soon  be  able  to  close  up  to  his  support.  Deserted 
by  the  Niagara,  which  was  to  have  encountered 
the  second  of  the  enemy's  ships,  and  sustained  only 
by  the  Caledonia,  the  Ariel,  and  the  Scorpion,  we 
find  him  resisting  for  more  than  two  hours  the 
whole  of  the  British  squadron.  Finding,  at  length, 
his  vessel  cut  to  pieces,  his  guns  dismounted, 
means  of  resistance  destroyed,  and  nearly  the  whole 
of  his  brave  crew  lying  dead  or  wounded  around 
him,  instead  of  yielding  the  day,  after  having  done 
everything  that  depended  upon  him  to  win  it,  and 
leaving  the  responsibility  of  defeat  to  the  com- 
mander of  the  Niagara,  he  thought  only  of  using 
the  means  that  remained  to  him  still  to  secure  a 
victory.  Passing  from  the  Lawrence  under  the 
enemy's  fire ;  saved  from  death,  as  if  miraculously, 
by  the  protecting  genius  of  his  country,  he  reached 
the  Niagara,  and,  by  an  evolution  unsurpassed  for 
genius  and  hardihood,  bore  down  upon  the  enemy, 
and  dashed  with  his  fresh  and  uninjured  vessel 
through  the  enemy's  line.  It  was  thus  that  the 
battle  of  Erie  was  won,  not  merely  by  the  genius 
and  inspiration,  but  eminently  by  the  exertions  of 
one  man.  Nelson  was  indeed  a  splendid  hero,  the 
subject,  in  no  slight  degree,  of  Perry's  admiration. 


260  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

But  it  may  with  truth  be  said,  that  no  one  of  his 
many  brilUant  victories  was  opposed  by  so  many 
difficulties,  or  effected  by  so  many  resources  of  ge- 
nius. They  were  usually  effected  by  single  com- 
bined movements  in  execution  of  previously-con- 
certed plans.  Nelson  would  go  into  action  at  the 
head  of  his  line,  be  gallantly  supported  by  his  sub- 
ordinate chiefs,  and  the  steady  display  of  British 
courage  and  superior  skill  would  give  him  the 
victory.  In  Perry's  victory,  the  original  intention 
of  engaging  the  enemy  in  line,  vessel  to  vessel,  as 
designated  in  previous  orders,  had  failed,  from  the 
Niagara  keeping  back  and  abstaining  from  the 
encounter  of  her  proper  antagonist,  which  was 
thus  left  free  to  aid  in  overpowering  the  Law- 
rence. In  suffering  destruction,  she  had  fought 
with  desperate  obstinacy,  and  dealt  many  and  for- 
midable blows  to  her  numerous  assailants.  Over- 
come at  last  and  abandoned  to  her  fate.  Perry 
made  a  new  arrangement  of  his  remaining  re- 
sources, and  snatched  from  the  enemy  a  victory 
which  he  had  already  claimed  with  exulting  cheers 
for  his  own.  Nelson  had  triumphed  over  French- 
men and  Spaniards;  Perry  was  called  upon  to 
meet  the  conquerors  of  these,  led,  moreover,  by 
a  veteran  formed  in  the  school  of  Nelson,  and 
bearing  upon  his  person  the  marks  of  Nelson's 
greatest  victory.  The  battle  of  Trafalgar  was  won 
by  the  whole  British  fleet  over  a  part  of  that  of 


OLIVER     HAZARD    PERRY.  261 

the  allies ;  the  battle  of  Lake  Erie  was  won  over 
the  whole  British  squadron  by  only  a  part  of  ours. 
Let  us  now  follow  the  movements  of  Perry  subse- 
quent to  the  victory.  After  the  enemy's  colours  had 
been  hauled  down,  and  provision  had  been  made 
for  officering  and  manning  the  prizes,  confining  the 
prisoners,  securing  the  wounded  masts,  stopping 
shot-holes,  and  the  combined  squadron  had  been 
hauled  by  the  wind  on  the  starboard  tack,  he  re- 
tired to  the  cabin  to  communicate  briefly  to  Gen- 
eral Harrison  intelligence  of  an  event  which  was 
to  admit  of  the  immediate  advance  of  his  army, 
and  rescue  our  territory  from  the  savage  warfare 
which  the  surrender  of  Hull's  army  and  subsequent 
disasters  had  entailed  on  it.  The  letter  which  he 
wrote,  though  short,  was  ample,  since  it  expressed 
all  that  was  necessary  to  be  known. 

"Dear  General, 
"  We  have  met  the  enemy,  and  they  are  ours. 
Two  ships,  two  brigs,  one  schooner,  and  one 
sloop.     Yours,  with  very  great  respect  and  es- 
teem, 

"0.  H.  Perry." 

He  also  wrote  the  following  letter  to  the  secre- 
tary of  the  navy,  which  was  forwarded  by  the 
same  express. 


262  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

"  U.  S.  brig  Niagara,  off  the  westernmost  Sister,  ) 
t  head  of  Lake  Erie,  Sept.  10,  1813.,  4  P.M.     \ 

"  Sir, 

"It  has  pleased  the  Almighty  to  give  to  the 
arms  of  the  United  States  a  signal  victory  over 
their  enemies  on  this  lake.  The  British  squadron, 
consisting  of  two  ships,  two  brigs,  one  schooner, 
and  one  sloop,  have  this  moment  surrendered  to 
the  force  under  my  command,  after  a  sharp  conflict. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  sir,  very  respectfully, 
your  obedient  servant, 

"O.H.  Perry." 

Nothing  can  be  more  beautifully  conspicuous  or 
more  characteristic  than  the  blended  modesty  and 
piety  of  this  celebrated  letter,  written  without  de- 
liberation, in  the  moment  of  victory,  and  in  the 
midst  of  abundant  occupation.  In  ascribing  the 
victory  to  the  Almighty  gift,  he  was  not  using  a 
simple  form  of  speech,  which  would  appear  grace- 
fully and  flatter  the  strongly  rehgious  feelings  of 
the  country,  but  giving  vent  to  a  spontaneous  im- 
pulse of  his  heart.  He  keeps  all  allusion  to  him- 
self out  of  sight :  self  is  nowhere  referred  to,  ex- 
cept when  he  unavoidably  characterizes  the  squad- 
ron as  being  under  his  command,  and  the  simple 
words  "  a  sharp  conflict"  alone  convey  any  idea 
of  the  desperate  struggle  in  which  his  own  cour- 
age and  genius  had  been  so  ascendant. 


OLIVFR    HAZARD    PERRY.  263 

Havisg  despatched  these  letters  by  express,  he 
made  signal  to  anchor,  for  the  greater  facility  of 
providing  for  the  comfort  of  the  wounded,  the  se- 
curity of  the  prisoners,  and  the  general  reorgani- 
zation of  the  squadron.  Soon  after,  he  visited  the 
Ariel,  and  despatched  Sailing-master  Brownell  to 
take  charge  of  the  Somers,  to  which  he  subse- 
quently ordered  seventy  prisoners  to  be  removed 
from  the  large  vessels.  Forty  of  them  were  ironed 
or  confined  below;  the  remainder  were  arranged 
within  the  circle  of  the  long  gun,  in  a  sitting  pos- 
ture, while  the  crew  remained  under  arms  during 
the  night,  forming  bulwarks  across  the  deck,  and 
ready  to  fire  at  the  least  indication  of  a  disposition 
to  rise.  Having  completed  some  other  arrange- 
ments for  the  safe  keeping  of  the  prisoners  in  oth- 
er vessels.  Perry  returned  to  the  Lawrence,  to  be 
again  among  his  brave  shipmates,  and  to  do  what 
he  was  able  for  their  succour.  It  was  proper  also 
that  he  should  receive  in  his  own  ship  the  surrender 
of  the  prizes  by  their  commanders,  and  that  the 
brave  fellows  who  had  done  most  to  win  the  victory 
should  behold  the  proud  but  mournful  ceremony 
by  which  it  was  completed.  From  Doctor  Par- 
sons, to  whom  the  writer  has  been  indebted  for 
valuable  aid  in  every  stage  of  his  undertaking,  he 
has  the  following  brief  yet  impressive  description 
of  Perry's  return  to  the  Lawrence :  "  It  was  a  time 
of  conflicting  emotions  when  the  commodore  re- 


264  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

turned  to  the  ship.  The  battle  was  won ;  he  was 
safe.  But  the  deck  was  shppery  with  blood  and 
brains,  and  strewed  with  the  bodies  of  twenty  of- 
ficers and  men,  some  of  whom  had  sat  at  table 
with  us  at  our  last  meal,  and  the  ship  resounded 
everywhere  with  the  groans  of  the  wounded. 
Those  of  us  who  were  spared  and  able  to  walk, 
approached  him  as  he  came  over  the  ship's  side, 
but  the  salutation  was  a  silent  one  on  both  sides : 
not  a  word  could  find  utterance." 

Perry,  at  the  request  of  his  officers,  had  hither- 
to worn  a  uniform  round  jacket ;  he  now  resumed 
his  undress  uniform,  and,  standing  on  the  after- 
part  of  the  deck,  received  the  officers  of  the  dif- 
ferent captured  vessels  as  they  came  to  tender  the 
surrender  of  their  vessels  and  their  own  submis- 
sion as  prisoners.  At  the  head  of  them  was  an 
officer  of  the  forty-first  regiment,  who  acted  as 
marine  officer  on  board  the  Detroit,  and  was 
charged  by  Commodore  Barclay  with  the  delivery 
of  his  sword ;  he  was  in  full  dress.  When  they 
had  approached,  picking  their  way  among  the 
wreck  and  carnage  of  the  deck,  they  held  their 
swords  with  the  hilts  towards  Perry,  and  tendered 
them  to  his  acceptance.  With  a  dignified  and  sol- 
emn air,  the  most  remote  possible  from  any  betrayal 
of  exultation,  and  in  a  low  tone  of  voice,  he  request- 
ed them  to  retain  their  side-arms ;  inquired  with 
deep  concern  for   Commodore  Barclay  and  the 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      265 

wounded  officers,  tendering  to  them  every  comfort 
his  ship  afforded,  and  expressing  his  regret  that  he 
had  not  a  spare  medical  officer  to  send  to  them. 

As  it  was  impossible  to  reserve  all  the  killed  of 
the  Lawrence  for  burial  on  shore,  the  seamen  were 
buried  at  nightfall  alongside,  the  able-bodied  of 
the  crew,  so  much  less  numerous  than  the  killed, 
being  assembled  around  to  perform  the  last  sad 
offices.  The  burial-service  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land was  read  over  them  by  the  chaplain,  Mr. 
Breese,  and  they  were  committed  to  the  deep. 
These  painful  duties,  the  eventful  occupations  of 
the  day,  the  condition  of  the  vessel,  and  the  unin- 
terrupted groans  of  the  wounded  and  dying,  gave 
a  melancholy  tone  to  the  conversation  ot  the  com- 
mander and  his  few  officers  assembled  together 
on  the  quarter-deck.  To  be  among  the  very  few 
spared  from  death  and  mutilation,  the  chances  of 
which  he  had  encountered  on  that  day  in  so  many 
ways,  called  for  no  little  gratitude  from  Perry. 
His  little  brother,  only  twelve  years  old,  though 
he  had  received  several  musket-balls  through  his 
dress,  had  met  with  no  injury,  and  was  now  do- 
sing in  his  hammock.  An  allusion  to  these  facts 
awakened  the  same  sense  of  a  controlling  Provi- 
dence, which,  in  beginning  his  report,  had  led  him 
to  ascribe  the  victory  to  the  pleasure  of  the  Al- 
mighty. "I  believe,"  he  said,  "that  my  wife's 
prayers  have  saved  me." 
Z 


266  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

Perry  now  retired  to  his  cot,  less,  perhaps,  to 
sleep  than  to  dwell  on  the  proud  yet  painful 
events  of  the  day  ;  to  think  of  that  loved  one,  to 
the  interposition  of  whose  prayers  he  attributed  his 
preservation  through  so  many  perils,  and  with 
whom  the  victory  which  he  had  won  would  admit 
of  his  speedy  reunion,  and  of  the  children  for 
whom  he  had  that  day  founded  the  honourable 
inheritance  of  an  illustrious  name.  If  the  fatigues 
and  exertions  of  a  day  thus  spent  claimed  for  him 
the  respite  of  sleep,  the  toils,  the  perplexities,  the 
heroism  of  the  preceding  hours  must  have  min- 
gled with  and  disturbed  his  slumbers,  and  made 
him  live  over  again  the  anxieties  of  that  desperate 
struo^orle. 

On  the  following  morning  the  commodore  re- 
moved to  the  Ariel,  having  determined,  as  the 
Lawrence  was  completely  disabled  for  all  farther 
service,  to  make  her  an  hospital  ship,  and  despatch 
her  with  our  wounded  to  Erie.  His  extreme  soH- 
citude,  however,  brought  him  back  to  the  Law- 
rence in  the  course  of  the  day  to  inquire  into  the 
condition  of  his  wounded  shipmates,  and  encour- 
age them  under  the  operations  which  many  of 
them  were  obliged  to  undergo.  Dr.  Parsons,  as- 
sistant-surgeon of  the  Lawrence,  was  the  only  sur- 
gical officer  of  the  three  belonging  to  the  vessels 
who  was  in  a  condition  to  perform  duty  in  a  squad- 
ron having  ninety-six  wounded,  and  a  still  greater 


OLIVER     HAZARD    PERRY.  267 

number  ill  with  fevers  and  dysentery.  His  pres- 
ence on  board  of  the  Lawrence,  where  most  of  the 
wounds  had  occurred,  was  a  fortunate  circum- 
stance. He  had  removed  a  few  limbs  nearly  sev- 
ered by  cannon  balls  during  the  action,  and  con- 
fined his  attention  to  the  sufficiently-engrossing 
task  of  securing  bleeding  arteries.  During  the 
night  of  the  tenth  his  attention  was  almost  con- 
stantly required  in  administering  opiates  and  cor- 
dials, and  arresting  renewed  bleeding  among  the 
wounded.  At  daylight  on  the  following  morning 
he  had  his  first  patient  on  the  table  for  amputa- 
tion, and  by  eleven  o'clock  had  completed  all  the 
amputations.  It  is  mentioned  by  this  gentleman 
that  the  greatest  impatience  existed  among  this 
class  of  wounded  to  meet  the  operation,  and  the 
only  way  of  satisfying  the  candidates  for  the  loss 
of  an  arm  or  a  leg  was  to  take  them  in  the  order 
in  which  they  had  been  wounded.  At  ten  o'clock 
in  the  evening  a  few  of  the  more  slightly  wounded 
still  remained  unattended  to,  when  the  surgeon 
was  obliged  to  desist,  from  inability  longer  to  sus- 
tain himself  in  a  stooping  position,  and  from  mere 
physical  exhaustion.  The  remaining  wounded  of 
the  Lawrence,  with  the  wounded  of  the  rest  of 
the  squadron,  were  only  seen  on  the  following 
day.  It  is  conclusive  as  to  the  rare  skill  of  Doc- 
tor Parsons,  and  his  humane  attentions  to  the 
wounded,  that  out  of  the  whole  ninety-six,  only 


268  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

three  died ;  one  of  these  was  midshipman  Thomas 
Claxton,  a  young  officer  of  merit  and  great  prom- 
ise. This  extraordinary  success  must  have  been 
chiefly  owing  to  the  skill  and  watchful  attention 
of  the  young  surgeon,  though  he  modestly  attrib- 
utes it  to  "  their  being  abundantly  supplied  with 
fresh  provisions,  to  a  pure  atmosphere  under  an 
awning  upon  deck,  to  the  cheerful  state  of  mind 
occasioned  by  victory,  and  to  the  devoted  atten- 
tion of  the  commodore  to  every  want." 

In  the  course  of  this  day  Perry  visited  Commo- 
dore Barclay  on  board  of  the  Detroit,  and  from 
that  visit,  so  tragically  ushered  in,  began  a  warm 
and  enduring  friendship.  Every  comfort  that  Per- 
ry could  procure  for  his  wounded  prisoner  was 
freely  placed  at  his  disposal.  He  became  respon- 
sible for  a  considerable  sum  of  money  required  by 
Barclay  for  his  own  use  and  that  of  his  officers ; 
and,  at  Barclay's  request,  also  advanced  money  to 
the  army  officers  employed  in  his  squadron.  Some 
difficulties  had  occurred  at  that  period  with  regard 
to  the  treatment  of  prisoners  between  the  two  na- 
tions, owing  to  some  alleged  cruelties  against  our 
captured  countrymen.  Still,  in  order  to  relieve 
the  mind  of  Barclay  while  suffering  from  his 
wounds,  and  under  a  conviction  that  nothing  but 
a  return  to  his  country  could  restore  him.  Perry 
pledged  himself  that  he  should  be  paroled ;  and 
wrote  with  such  urgency  to  the  secretary  of  the 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      269 

navy  and  the  commissary  of  prisoners  in  Barclay's 
behalf,  making  his  request  as  a  personal  favour  to 
himself,  the  only  one  that  he  had  to  ask,  that  it 
was  eventually  obtained. 

While  Perry  was  on  board  the  Detroit  on  his 
visit  to  Barclay,  two  strange  beings  were  brought 
to  him,  who  had  been  found  in  the  depths  of  the 
hold,  where  they  had  remained  without  food  since 
the  action.  They  proved  to  be  Indian  chiefs,  lu- 
dicrously clad  in  sailor's  clothes,  in  which  they  ap- 
peared very  ill  at  their  ease.  With  others  of  their 
nation,  they  had  been  embarked  in  the  British 
squadron  to  act  in  the  tops  as  sharp-shooters.  These 
savages,  who  had  the  reputation  of  braves  in  their 
tribe,  and  who  would  probably  have  suffered  scalp- 
ing or  met  death  with  composure,  surrounded  with 
every  torture  that  barbarity  like  their  own  could 
devise,  were  completely  unnerved,  when  the  battle 
became  warm,  by  the  crash  and  destruction  around 
them.  Panic-struck  by  the  unaccustomed  perils 
to  which  they  were  exposed,  they  fled  with  pre- 
cipitation to  the  lowest  part  of  the  hold,  whence 
they  were  drawn  forth  more  dead  than  alive. 
When  brought  before  Perry,  they  expected  no- 
thing short  of  torture  and  scalping ;  but  were  no 
less  relieved  than  astonished  when,  after  a  few 
good-humoured  words,  he  directed  them  to  be  fed 
and  made  comfortable.  Soon  after  he  sent  them 
on  shore,  furnished,  at  their  desire,  with  a  particu- 
Z2 


270  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

lar  request  to  General  Harrison  that  they  might 
be  carefully  protected  from  our  friendly  Indians. 

At  nine  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  eleventh, 
the  two  squadrons  weighed  anchor  and  stood  to- 
wards Put-in  Bay,  where  they  arrived  after  a  sail 
of  two  hours.  The  burial  of  the  officers  who  had 
fallen  in  battle  took  place  on  the  morning  of  the 
twelfth.  The  day  was  serene,  and  the  lake  un- 
ruffled by  a  breeze.  The  boats,  with  their  crews 
neatly  dressed,  and  their  colours  half-masted,  con- 
veyed the  bodies  to  the  shore,  keeping  time,  with 
a  measured  stroke,  to  the  mournful  death-dirge. 
The  procession  formed,  as  it  reached  the  shore,  ac- 
cording to  rank,  in  reversed  order.  The  youngest 
of  the  killed  was  borne  first,  then  the  lowest  in 
rank  of  the  other  squadron,  and  so  on  alternately, 
an  American  and  a  British  corpse,  the  body  of 
Captain  Finnis  coming  last.  As  the  corpses 
moved  on,  the  officers  fell  into  procession,  two 
Americans  and  two  English,  according  to  rank 
reversed.  Perry  himself  closing  the  procession.  As 
the  mournful  pageant  advanced,  keeping  time  to 
the  measured  cadence  of  a  dead  march  from  the 
drums  and  fifes  of  both  squadrons,  minute  guns, 
fired  alternately  from  each,  offered  the  appropri- 
ate tribute  of  respect  to  the  remains  of  the  de- 
parted. 

At  length  the  procession  reached  the  spot,  near 
the  margin  of  the  lake,  where  the  graves  had  been 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      271 

prepared  for  the  reception  of  the  dead.  The  fu- 
neral service  was  read  over  them,  and  they  were 
lowered  into  the  earth  in  the  order  in  which  they 
had  been  borne.  Volleys  of  musketry  over  the 
graves  closed  the  mournful  ceremony.  The  re- 
jflections  with  which  a  man  of  eminently  humane 
feeUngs,  of  serious  and  contemplative  mind  like 
Perry,  must  have  gazed  upon  such  a  scene,  could 
have  been  of  no  ordinary  character.  The  same 
expression  of  melancholy  and  regret  at  the  loss 
of  shipmates  and  valued  friends,  pervading  alike 
the  countenances  of  the  conquerors  and  the  con- 
quered; identity  of  physiognomy  marking  them 
for  descendants  of  the  same  race ;  the  same  lan- 
guage, in  its  noblest  form — the  funeral-service  of 
the  Church  of  England — sounding  in  their  ears 
with  equal  familiarity,  as  if  to  contradict  the  en- 
mity which  the  lifeless  bodies  at  their  feet  too 
painfully  attested.  Did  his  eye  wander  beyond, 
it  took  in  the  peaceful  surface  of  the  lake  and  the 
shattered  vessels  of  either  squadron,  from  which 
came  alternately  the  melancholy  boom  of  the  min- 
ute gun.  As  the  young  commander  returned  to 
his  boat,  exultation,  if  it  found  any  existence  in 
his  bosom  at  such  a  moment,  must  have  blended 
itself  with  many  contending  emotions. 


272  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 


CHAPTER  EX. 

National  Consequences  of  the  Victory, — Official  Re- 
port. —  Perplexities  of  Commodore  Perry. —  Fa- 
vouraUe  Notice  of  Captain  Elliott. — Unfavourable 
Rumours  concerning  him. — Perry^s  Efforts  to  sup- 
press them. — Gives  him  a  Certificate. — His  Mo- 
tives. —  Informs  General  Brooks  of  his  Son^s 
Death.  —  Preparations  for  transporting  the  Army 
to  Canada, — Anecdote  of  Perry^s  Benevolence. — 
Removal  of  the  Army  to  Put-in  Bay ;  to  Middle 
Sister ;  to  Maiden. — Ascent  of  Detroit  River. — 
Perry  volunteers  as  Aid  to  General  Harrison. — 
Rapturously  received  hy  the  Army. — Exciting  Pur- 
suit.— Enemy  overtaken. — Battle  of  the  Thames. — 
Charge  of  mounted  Kentuckians. — Death  of  Te- 
cumseh. — Capture  of  the  British  Army. — Anecdote 
of  Perry^s  Horsemanship. — Affords  Protection  to 
the  Moravian  Missionaries. — Benevolence  to  Af- 
flicted Woman.  —  Captain  Elliotfs  Complaints 
<igainst  Perry. 

The  important  consequences  of  the  victory  on 
Lake  Erie  might  well  justify  the  pious  exclama- 
tion in  which  Perry  announced  it  to  the  secretary 
of  the  navy  :  "  It  has  pleased  the  Almighty  to 
give  to  the  arms  of  the  United  States  a  signal 
victory  over  their  enemies."      While   a  defeat 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      273 

would  have  given  to  the  enemy  the  command  of 
all  the  lakes,  by  enabUng  him  to  concentrate  his 
forces  in  succession  on  Lakes  Ontario  and  Cham- 
plain,  and  thus  laid  our  whole  frontier  open  to  his 
incursions,  victory,  on  the  contrary,  on  this  lake 
involved  remotely  the  possibility  of  triumph  on  all 
the  others,  while  it  led  immediately  to  the  evacu- 
ation of  Detroit,  and  the  release  of  the  whole  ter- 
ritory of  Michigan  from  the  occupation  of  the 
British  army,  and  from  the  horrors  of  the  firebrand 
and  scalping^knife  which  its  allies  had  rendered 
but  too  familiar  there.  The  heroism  of  Perry, 
while  restoring  to  us  all  that  Hull's  incapacity 
had  lost,  wiped  away  the  stigma  of  his  inglorious 
surrender,  and  left  a  fund  of  encouragement  to 
give  impulse  to  our  arms.  The  blow,  followed 
up  with  vigour,  not  only  facilitated  the  immediate 
overthrow  of  the  British  power  in  Upper  Canada 
and  on  all  the  lakes,  but  left  us  without  limits  to 
the  extension  of  our  conquests.  One  of  the  first 
and  most  important  consequences  that  must  neces- 
sarily follow  it  was  the  advancement  of  General 
Harrison's  army  into  the  enemy's  territory.  In 
order  to  transport  the  army  to  Maiden,  where  the 
main  body  of  the  British  army  then  lay,  and  which 
it  was  designed  to  get  possession  of  before  ascend- 
ing the  lake  towards  Detroit,  Perry  made  haste  to 
prepare  the  Niagara,  and  the  light  vessels  of  both 
squadrons,  for  immediate  service  j  he  removed  the 


274  AMERICAN     BIOGRAPHY. 

whole  of  our  wounded  to  the  Lawrence,  and  the 
whole  of  the  British  wounded  to  the  Detroit  and 
the  Queen  Charlotte.  The  last  two  vessels  were 
snugly  moored  in  the  inner  bay  for  their  greater 
security. 

The  thirteenth  of  September  was  ushered  in  by 
a  violent  gale  from  the  southwest,  which  created 
a  heavy  sea  in  the  bay.  This  was  too  distressing 
to  the  shattered  masts  of  the  Detroit,  notwith- 
standing the  efforts  which  had  been  made  to  se- 
cure them.  They  fell  with  a  violent  crash  on  the 
decks,  and  rendered  the  wreck  and  desolation 
complete.  The  disaster  had  been  foreseen,  and 
the  prize  crew  had  placed  themselves  in  safety. 
The  main  and  mizzen  masts  of  the  Queen  Char- 
lotte fell  in  like  manner. 

In  the  course  of  this  day  Perry  found  leisure  to 
draw  up  and  despatch  a  detailed  report  of  the 
battle  to  the  secretary  of  the  navy,  together  with 
statements  of  the  relative  forces  of  the  two  squad- 
rons, and  of  our  killed  and  wounded.  This  re- 
port is  admirable  for  the  modesty  which  every- 
where pervaded  it,  so  far  as  he  was  himself  con- 
cerned ;  merely  confining  himself,  with  regard  to 
his  own  movements,  to  a  simple  relation  of  the 
most  important  facts ;  and  evincing  his  desire  to 
make  all  under  his  orders  appear  advantageously. 
To  this  desire  was  owing  the  notice  which  he  took 
of  Captain  Elliott,  which,  without  being  very  eu- 


OLIVER    HAZARD    FERRY.  275 

logistic,  was  suited,  on  the  whole,  to  prevent  con- 
veying any  unfavourable  impression  of  his  conduct. 
He  stated  that, "  at  half  past  two,  the  wind  spring- 
ing up,  Captain  Elliott  was  enabled  to  bring  his 
vessel,  the  Niagara,  gallantly  into  close  action.  I 
immediately  went  on  board  of  her,  when  he  an- 
ticipated my  wish  by  volunteering  to  bring  the 
schooners,  which  had  been  kept  astern  by  the 
lightness  of  the  wind,  into  close  action."  He 
leaves  to  Captain  Elliott  the  benefit  of  the  infer- 
ence that,  more  than  two  hours  after  the  Lawrence 
had  been  in  close  action,  he  actually  did  what  he 
was  enabled  to  do ;  which,  by  the  concurrent  tes- 
timony of  the  officers  of  the  squadron,  except  a 
few  of  those  of  the  Niagara,  he  never  did.  After 
commending  the  various  officers  of  the  squadron 
who  had  distinguished  themselves,  he  thus  closed 
with  a  notice  of  Captain  Elliott,  of  whom  he  could 
not  avoid  speaking  without  necessarily  implying 
misconduct.  "  Of  Captain  Elliott,  already  so  well 
known  to  the  government,  it  would  be  almost  su- 
perfluous to  speak ;  in  this  action  he  evinced  his 
characteristic  bravery  and  judgment ;  and,  since 
the  close  of  the  action,  has  given  me  the  most  able 
and  essential  assistance."  This  report  was  seen 
by  Captain  Elliott,  to  whom,  as  second  in  com- 
mand, this  courtesy  might,  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances, be  considered  due.  When  he  had  read 
it,  Perry  asked  him  if  it  was  a  correct  statement ; 


276  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

Captain  Elliott  assented ;  but,  after  a  little  time 
and  a  reperusal,  he  did  not  like  the  manner  in 
which  Perry  spoke  of  the  Niagara,  and  asked  him 
if  he  could  not  alter  it.    Perry  said  he  would  take 
time  to  reflect,  and,  if  he  could  alter  it  with  pro- 
priety, he  would  do  so.     Failing  in  obtaining  more 
favourable  mention  of  himself — for  Perry  was  con- 
.  vinced,  upon  reflection,  that  he  had  already  said  too 
much  for  him — Captain  Elliott  procured  some  al- 
terations to  be  made  in  the  report  relating  to  oth- 
ers.    At  his  suggestion,  some  laudatory  remarks 
were  inserted  as  to  the  conduct  of  Acting-mas- 
ter Nelson  Webster ;  and,  in  consequence  of  his 
attributing  misconduct  to  the  commanders  of  the 
small  vessels  which  he   had   gone  to   the   rear 
of  the  line  to  bring  up.  Perry  omitted  all  men- 
tion of  their  commanders.     This  omission  he  sub- 
sequently regretted,  as  he  was  afterward  led  to 
believe  that  they  had  failed  in  no  exertion  to  close 
up,   especially  Lieutenant   Holdup    Stevens,   the 
commander  of  the  Trippe,  who,  as  he  ascertained 
from  Lieutenant  Turner  and  others,  had  brought  his 
vessel  into  action  with  special   gallantry.     This 
omission  gave  great  pain  to  the  relations  of  Mr. 
Stevens,  and  produced  anxious  letters  from  them 
to  Captain  Perry,  which  he  was  happy  in  being 
able  to  answer  most  satisfactorily  by  placing  Lieu- 
tenant Stevens  in  a  true  and   meritorious  light. 
Captain  Elliott's  attempt  thus  to   destroy  Lieu- 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      277 

tenant  Stevens  can  only  be  accounted  for  by  an 
inveterate  dislike,  and  appears  to  be  in  some  way 
connected  with  the  removal  of  this  officer  a  few 
days  before  from  the  Niagara,  of  which  he  was 
previously  first  lieutenant.  Of  the  conduct  du- 
ring the  action  of  this  gentleman's  successor,  Lieu- 
tenant J.  E.  Smith,  who  had  exchanged  with  Mr 
Stevens,  Captain  Elliott  also  spoke  to  Captain 
Perry  in  the  most  disparaging  terms ;  but  the  lat- 
ter, having  observed  that  Mr.  Smith  did  his  duty 
while  the  Niagara  was  in  a  far  more  critical  posi- 
tion than  during  the  time  of  Captain  Elliott's  be- 
ing on  board  of  her,  noticed  his  conduct  with  ap- 
probation.* It  thus  appears,  that  while  Perry  was 
torturing  his  ingenuity  to  keep  honestly  out  of 
view  the  palpable  misconduct  of  Captain  Elliott, 

*  Yet  Captain  Elliott  subsequently  procured  from  this  oflB- 
cer,  whom  he  had  thus  endeavoured  to  destroy,  a  commenda- 
tory certificate,  and  made  him  instrumental  in  publishing  it. 
To  the  remark  of  Mr.  Cooper,  "  It  is  now  believed  that  the 
omission  of  the  names  of  the  commanders  of  the  gun  vessels 
astern  was  accidental,"  Mr.  Hambleton  appends  the  following 
note  :  "  It  was  not.  They  were  omitted  in  consequence  of  the 
unfavourable  report  of  Captain  Elliott,  who  said  they  were  not 
making  the  best  of  their  way  up."  The  name  of  Mr.  Hamble- 
ton, whose  conduct  throughout  the  battle  was  so  gallant  and 
meritorious,  is  omitted  by  Mr.  Cooper  among  the  list  of  wound- 
ed officers. 

Aa 


278  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

he,  on  the  contrary,  was  endeavouring  to  ruin  his 
inferiors. 

As  the  happiness  of  Captain  Perry  was  after- 
ward imbittered  by  the  annoyances  which  grew 
out  of  a  controversy  forced  upon  him  by  Captain 
Elliott,  as  to  his  share  in  this  victory,  and  as  una- 
voidable notice  must  be  taken  of  it  hereafter,  it  is 
necessary  to  trace  the  origin  of  the  difficulty.  Cap- 
tain Elliott  appears  to  have  arrived  on  Lake  Erie 
with  a  feeling  of  jealousy  towards  Captain  Perry, 
an  exaggerated  idea  of  the  distinction  conferred 
upon  him  by  the  capture  of  the  Detroit  and  Cale- 
donia, and  a  feeling  that  injustice  had  been  done 
to  him  in  not  conferring  on  him  the  chief  com- 
mand of  the  squadron  on  Lake  Erie.  While, 
therefore.  Perry  was  happy  to  receive  an  officer  of 
greater  experience  than  those  who  had  hitherto 
been  sent  to  him,  and  was  disposed  to  welcome 
him  cordially.  Captain  Elliott,  on  the  contrary, 
joined  the  command  with  a  feeling  of  jealousy  to- 
wards his  superior,  and  a  disposition  to  be  insubor- 
dinate. Very  soon  after  he  joined  the  squadron, 
he  had  a  difficulty  with  a  commander  of  one  of 
the  smaller  vessels  about  receiving  a  seaman,  which 
that  officer  scrupled  to  deliver  without  a  written 
order,  when,  instead  of  reporting  the  circumstan- 
ces as  they  had  occurred  to  their  commander,  he 
thus  dictatorially  addressed  him. 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  279 

U.  S.  brig  Niagara,  August  19,  1813. 

"Sir, 
"  I  hereby  require  of  you  the  arrest  of  Sailing- 
master  Thomas  C.  Almy,  who  has  committed  a 
breach  of  the  first  clause  of  the  fourteenth  article 
for  the  better  government  of  the  Navy  of  the  Uni- 
ted States. 

"  Respectfully,  I  have  the  honour  to  be, 
"  Jesse  D.  Elliott,  Lieut. 

•♦  Captain  0.  H.  Perry." 

Captain  Perry  seems  to  have  taken  no  offence 
at  this  insubordinate  and  disrespectful  requisition, 
by  which  his  inferior  undertook  to  deprive  him  of 
the  power  of  exercising  any  judgment  as  to  ques- 
tions of  discipline  arising  among  his  officers,  and 
to  decide  at  once  as  to  an  alleged  offence  and  the 
degree  of  punishment  to  be  awarded  to  it.  He  so 
far  yielded,  however,  to  Captain  Elliott's  demand, 
as  to  arrest  the  officer  in  question ;  he  subsequently 
adjusted  the  difficulty,  and  took  measures,  by  the 
issue  of  a  general  order,  to  prevent  its  recurrence. 
His  conduct  in  this  and  in  other  matters  evin- 
ced towards  Captain  Elliott  a  spirit  of  forbearance 
and  conciliation.  This  spirit,  added  to  an  eminent- 
ly humane  and  generous  feeling,  continued  to  an- 
imate him  towards  this  officer  in  the  very  pecuhar 
situation  in  which  he  found  himself  after  the  battle. 

During  the  battle,  and  immediately  after  it,  the 


280  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

extraordinary  conduct  of  Captain  Elliott,  in  failing 
to  follow  his  chief  into  close  action,  to  seek  out 
his  designated  opponent,  and  to  relieve  the  Law- 
rence from  her  unequal  contest  with  the  whole 
British  squadron,  had  been  the  subject  of  univer- 
sal remark,  and  of  the  severest  animadversion. 
The  opinion  was  general  in  the  squadron  that  Cap- 
tain EUiott  had  either  been  actuated  by  cowardice, 
or  by  a  treacherous  desire  to  see  the  Lawrence 
overpowered  and  her  commander  slain,  that  he 
might  take  his  station,  and,  by  winning  the  victo- 
ry, become  the  hero  of  the  day.*  As,  however, 
the  chances  of  victory  were  almost  annihilated  by 
the  destruction  of  the  Lawrence,  the  last  supposi- 
tion met  with  little  belief.  These  reports  were 
not  unknown  to  Captain  Perry,  though  he  discour- 
aged their  circulation.  He  had  been  perplexed 
during  the  action  by  the  unaccountable  manoeuvres 
of  the  Niagara,  when  he  observed  them  himself, 
or  when  his  attention  was  called  to  them  by  oth- 
ers ;  but  he  was  unwilling  to  beheve  in  the  exist- 
ence of  such  motives  as  were  generally  ascribed 
to  Captain  Elliott.  He  felt  a  generous  indisposi- 
tion to  permit  the  fall  of  a  young  officer,  then 
high  in  the  pubhc  favour,  whom  he  had  the 
power  of  saving ;  and,  even  putting  the  worst 
construction  on  the  conduct  of  Captain  ElHott,  he 
was  unwilling  that  the  enemy  should  know  that 
♦  See  affidavits  at  the  end  of  the  work. 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  281 

the  second  in  command  in  our  squadron  had  fail- 
ed in  his  duty.  In  expressing  his  doubts  on  this 
subject  to  his  intimate  friend,  Mr.  Hambleton, 
•while  in  the  act  of  drawing  up  his  report,  he  quo- 
ted to  him,  with  approbation,  the  declaration  of  an 
English  admiral,  "  It  is  better  to  screen  a  cow- 
ard than  to  let  the  enemy  know  there  is  one  in  the 
fleet." 

Influenced  by  this  motive  of  national  and  profes- 
sional pride,  and  the  generous  and  humane  desire  of 
saving  a  young  officer  from  irretrievable  ruin  and 
disgrace.  Perry  noticed  the  conduct  of  Elliott  not 
only  without  reprobation,  but  in  the  qualified  terms 
of  praise  that  we  have  quoted.  The  difficulty  and 
doubt  under  which  he  laboured  are  evident  on  a 
careful  perusal  of  his  report.  Nor  was  this  all  that 
he  did  :  through  Lieutenant  Turner  and  Mr.  Ham- 
bleton he  intimated  his  desire  to  the  officers  of  his 
own  ship,  and  of  the  squadron  generally,  that  they 
should  abstain,  both  in  their  letters  and  in  conver- 
sation, from  all  remarks  on  the  conduct  of  Captain 
Elliott.  He  said,  that  whatever  might  have  been 
the  appearances  during  the  action,  he  was  unwill- 
ing, after  its  happy  result,  to  ruin  an  officer  of  rank 
and  favourable  standing.  The  American  flag,  he 
remarked,  had  gained  honour  enough  on  that  day 
to  permit  its  being  shared  by  all  who  had  served 
under  it.  In  consequence  of  this  statement  of  the 
wishes  of  their  beloved  commander,  the  officers 
Aa2 


282  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

suppressed  the  letters  which  they  had  written  to 
their  friends,  describing  the  battle  and  stigmatizing 
the  conduct  of  Captain  Elhott.  Hearing,  more- 
over, subsequently,  that  reports  of  his  having  failed 
to  do  his  duty  prevailed  throughout  General  Harri- 
son's army.  Perry  spoke  to  Lieutenant  Turner  on 
the  subject,  expressing  the  regret  which  these  re- 
ports caused  him,  and  his  desire  that  they  might  be 
silenced.  He  requested  Lieutenant  Turner  to  visit 
the  camp,  and  do  all  that  he  could  with  propriety 
to  counteract  them.  Sharing  the  noble  generosity 
of  his  commander,  Mr.  Turner  comphed  with  this 
request  on  the  following  morning.  Such  were  the 
magnanimous  motives  which  led  Perry,  after  a 
long  mental  conflict  between  justice  on  the  one 
side,  and  humane  feelings  and  patriotic  pride  on 
the  other,  to  convey,  in  his  official  report,  a  fa- 
vourable impression  of  Captain  Elliott's  conduct 
during  the  battle,  and  otherwise  to  exert  himself, 
with  benevolent  solicitude,  to  screen  him  from  ex- 
posure and  reprobation. 

Captain  Elliott  was  necessarily  not  long  in  dis- 
covering the  unfavourable  impression  made  by  his 
conduct  during  the  battle.  He  had  taken  to  his 
bed  less  from  sickness  than  chagrin,  as  stated  by 
the  surgeon.  Dr.  Parsons,  who  was  obliged  to 
abandon  the  urgent  claims  of  the  wounded  to 
visit  Captain  Elliott,  and  who  had  not  yet  been 
able  to  attend  to  one  of  the  really  sick.    On  this 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  283 

occasion  Captain  Elliott  spoke  disparagingly  to 
Dr.  Parsons  of  his  own  surgeon,  Dr.  Barton ;  said 
he  was  good  for  nothing ;  that  he  had  attempted  to 
amputate  an  arm  during  the  battle,  but  the  man 
died  before  it  closed.  Dr.  Parsons  told  him  that 
Dr.  Barton  was  sick,  but  would  soon  be  better,  and 
able  to  discharge  his  duty  faithfully.* 

Perry  soon  after  visited  Captain  Elliott,  and 
found  him  in  this  condition,  and  was  moved  by  his 
declaration  that  he  had  lost  the  fairest  opportunity 
of  distinguishing  himself  that  man  ever  had,  to 
make  every  effort  to  relieve  him.f  When,  there- 
fore, he  soon  after  received  from  Captain  ElHott  a 
request  that  he  would  state  what  had  been  his 
conduct  during  the  battle,  influenced  by  the  same 
generous  motives,  he  replied  to  him  in  terms  of  ap- 
probation, which  he  subsequently  lived  to  repent. 
Captain  Elliott's  letter  was  in  the  following  words, 
copied  from  the  original  in  the  writer's  possession. 

"U.  S.  ship  Niagara,  Sept.  19,  1813. 

"Dear  Sir, 
"My  brother,  who  has   this  evening   arrived 
from  the  interior  of  the  country,  has  mentioned  to 
me  a  report  that  appeared  to  be  in  general  circula- 
tion, that,  in  the  late  action  with  the  British  fleet, 

*  Captain  Elliott  subsequently  procured  from  this  gentleman 
a  favourable  certificate. 
t  See,  in  the  sequel,  Perry's  letter  of  the  18th  June,  1818. 


284  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

my  vessel  betrayed  a  want  of  conduct  in  bringing 
into  action,  and  that  your  vessel  was  sacrificed  in 
consequence  of  a  want  of  exertion  on  my  part  in- 
dividually. I  will  thank  you  if  immediately  you 
"will,  with  candour,  name  to  me  my  exertions,  and 
that  of  my  officers  and  cr^w. 

^*  Yours  respectfully, 

"  Jesse  D,  Elliott.* 

"  An  immediate  answer  is  desired. 

"Captain  0.  IJ.  Perry,  Eriel." 

*  In  reference  to  this  letter,  Captain  Perry,  long  after,  wrote 
Captain  Elliott : 

"  Your  letter  to  me,  of  which  you  once  furnished  a  false  copy 
for  publication,  and  which  you  now  represent  as  making  a  de- 
mand upon  me,  was  merely  an  iatroduction  to  mine." 

That  the  reader  may  discover  the  truth  of  the  charge,  the  let- 
ter subsequently  published  by  Captain  Elliott  at  Erie,  and  quite 
recently  reproduced  in  his  autobiography,  if  that  title  can  be 
given  to  a  work  written  ujidej  his  auspi&es  and  containing  his 
opinions,  is  subjoined. 
"  Sir, 
**  I  am  informed  a  report  has  been  circulated  by  some  mali- 
cious persons,  prejudicial  to  my  vessel  when  engaged  with  the 
enemy's  fleet.  I  will  thank  you  if  you  will,  with  candour,  s.tate 
to  me  the  conduct  of  myself,  officers,  and  crew. 

"  RespetitfuJly,  your  obedient  servant, 

"Jesse  D.  Elliott. 
*'  Captain  Perry." 

On  a  comparison  of  the  real,  original  letter  written  by  Captain 
Elliott,  as  given  in  the  text,  with  this  letter,  published  in  the 
Erie  Sentinel  a  month  and  a  half  afterward,  and  reproduced  in 
the  Life  of  Commodore  Elliott,  the  reader  will  perceive  that  the 
whole  tone  J)i  the  letter  is  changed,  from  an  urgent  friendly  ap- 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  285 

Captain  Elliott's  letter  was  probably  dated  on 
the  eighteenth,  which  is  endorsed  on  the  back  of  it, 
instead  of  the  nineteenth ;  the  date  is  indistinctly- 
written,  and  appears  to  have  been  altered  from  the 
seventeenth  to  the  nineteenth.  Captain  Perry's 
reply  was  as  follows. 

"  U.  S.  schooner  Ariel,  Put-in  Bay,  Sept.  19,  1813. 

"Dear  Sir, 
"  I  received  your  note  last  evening  after  I  had 

peal  to  a  peremptory  demand.  The  "  Dear  Sir"  is  reduced  to 
plain  "  Sir ;"  and,  to  make  the  contrast  stronger.  Commodore  Per- 
ry is  made  to  begin  with  a  "  My  dear  Sir,"  instead  of  with  the  same 
conventional  expression  of  friendly  intercourse  used  by  Captain 
Elliott.  The  effect  of  these  changes  is  to  give  an  exacting  tone  to 
the  letter  of  Captain  Elliott,  and  a  decidedly  deprecating  one  to 
that  of  Commodore  Perry.  The  letter,  which  was  the  offspring  of 
an  ill-judged  and  ill-requited  benevolence,  is  made  to  assume  the 
guise  of  an  extorted  concession.  Some  other  alterations  were  also 
made  in  Commodore  Perry's  letter,  to  give  greater  force  to  his  ex- 
pressions, but  of  little  importance  when  compared  with  those 
made  in  Captain  Elliott's  own  prefatory  note.  It  was  desirable  to 
keep  out  of  view  the  important  fact  that  reports  unfavourable  to 
the  conduct  of  Captain  Elliott  in  thebattleofthe  tenth  of  Septem- 
ber were  already  in  extensive  circulation ;  hence  the  motive  for 
changing  the  introduction  of  the  letter,  from  "  My  brother,  who 
has  this  eveninig  arrived  from  the  interior  of  the  country,  has 
mentioned  to  me  a  report  that  appeared  to  be  in  general  circu- 
lation," to  "  I  am  informed  a  report  has  been  circulated  by  some 
malicious  persons."  This  substantiation  of  the  charge  against 
Captain  Elliott  of  furnishing  *<  a  false  copy  for  publication"  of  an 
important  letter,  will  simplify  the  after  discussion  of  the  difficul- 
ties between  these  two  officers,  and  assist  the  reader  in  the  in» 
telligence  of  their  respective  claims  to  honourable  consideration. 


286  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

turned  in,  or  I  should  have  answered  it  immedi- 
ately. I  am  indignant  that  any  report  should  be 
in  circulation  prejudicial  to  your  character,  as  re- 
spects the  action  of  the  tenth  instant.  It  affords 
me  pleasure  that  I  have  it  in  my  power  to  assure 
you,  that  the  conduct  of  yourself,  officers,  and  crew 
was  such  as  to  meet  my  warmest  approbation. 
And  I  consider  the  circumstance  of  your  volunteer- 
ing and  bringing  the  smaller  vessels  to  close  action 
as  contributing  largely  to  our  victory.  I  shall 
ever  believe  it  a  premeditated  plan  of  the  enemy 
to  disable  our  commanding  vessel,  by  bringing  all 
their  force  to  bear  upon  her ;  and  I  am  satisfied, 
had  they  not  pursued  this  course,  the  engagement 
would  not  have  lasted  thirty  minutes.  I  have  no 
doubt,  if  the  Charlotte  had  not  made  sail  and 
engaged  the  Lawrence,  the  Niagara  would  have 
taken  her  in  twenty  minutes. 

"  Respectfully,  &c., 

"  0.  H.  Perry. 

"  Captain  Jesse  D.  Elliott,  U.  S.  ship  Niagara." 

The  motives  which  prompted  Perry  to  write 
this  letter  were  the  same  that  influenced  him  in 
making  out  his  official  report,  and  in  requesting 
his  officers  to  abstain,  in  their  letters  and  in  con- 
versation, from  writing  or  saying  anything  to  the 
disadvantage  of  Captain  Elliott.  That  Perry  made 
a  great  mistake  in  writing  this  letter,  and  even 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  287 

committed  a  great  fault,  cannot  be  denied.  Hav- 
ing, however,  gone  so  far  in  his  official  report,  it 
was  natural  that  he  should  go  on,  though  the 
warmth  of  his  expressions  must  be  condemned. 
Before  the  days  of  Rodney  and  Nelson,  miscon- 
duct, growing  chiefly,  perhaps,  out  of  defective 
tactics,  was  far  from  uncommon  in  the  British 
navy ;  yet  the  circumstance  of  Admiral  Hawke 
having,  in  his  official  report,  boldly  accused  one 
of  his  captains  of  neglect  of  duty  in  the  general 
engagement  with  the  French  fleet  under  M.  de 
I'Etendiere  in  1747,  is  mentioned  by  naval  histo- 
rians as  distinguishing  that  report  from  almost 
every  other  on  similar  occasions.  It  is  due  to  Per- 
ry, that  what  he  himself  said  to  his  most  intimate 
friend,  Mr.  Hambleton,  in  palhation  of  his  mistake, 
when  the  person  for  whose  benefit  it  had  been 
committed  had  given  him  cause  for  repentance, 
should  be  placed  before  the  reader.  "  It  was  a 
matter  of  great  doubt,  when  I  began  to  reflect 
upon  Captain  Elliott's  conduct,  to  what  to  attrib- 
ute his  keeping  so  long  out  of  the  action.  It  was 
difficult  to  beheve  that  a  man,  who,  as  I  then 
thought,  had,  in  a  former  instance,  behaved  brave- 
ly, could  act  otherwise  in  a  subsequent  action.  I 
did  not  then  know  enough  of  human  nature  to  be- 
lieve that  any  one  could  be  so  base  as  to  be  guilty 
of  the  motive  which  some  ascribed  to  him,  name- 


288  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

ly,  a  determination  to  sacrifice  me  by  keeping  his 
vessel  out  of  action. 

"  On  the  evening  of  the  action  I  was  elated 
with  our  success,  which  had  relieved  me  from  a 
load  of  responsibihty,  and  from  a  situation,  stand- 
ing as  I  did  with  the  government,  almost  desper- 
ate. At  such  a  moment  there  was  not  a  person 
in  the  world  whose  feelings  I  would  have  hurt. 
On  showing  Captain  EUiott  the  rough  draught  of 
my  official  letter,  when  I  asked  him  if  it  was  a 
correct  statement,  he  assented ;  but,  after  a  little 
time,  did  not  like  the  manner  in  which  I  spoke  of 
the  Niagara,  and  asked  me  if  I  could  not  alter  it. 
I  told  him  I  thought  not,  but  would  take  time  to 
reflect,  and,  if  I  could  with  propriety,  would  do  so. 
Upon  reflection,  I  was  sensible  I  had  already  said 
and  done  too  much.  Subsequently  I  became  in- 
volved in  his  snares ;  and,  on  his  writing  me  a  note, 
of  which  he  has  published  only  a  part,  I  was  silly 
enough  to  write  him  in  reply  the  foolish  letter  of 
the  nineteenth  of  September,  because  I  thought  it 
necessary  to  persevere  in  endeavouring  to  save 
him.  This  undoubtedly  reflects  on  my  head,  but 
surely  not  on  my  heart.  I  was  willing  enough  to 
share  with  him  and  others  the  fame  I  had  ac- 
quired. Although,  my  friend,  I  never  have  arro- 
gated to  myself  superior  judgment — on  the  con- 
trary, am  aware  of  my  weakness  in  being  very 
credulous — ^yet  I  was  certainly  as  capable  of  deci- 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  289 

ding,  after  reflection,  on  events  that  occurred  under 
my  own  eyes  as  any  other  in  the  squadron,  and 
the  opinions  of  others  had  nothing  to  do  with 
mine  as  respects  Captain  EUiott.  Although  my 
want  of  judgment  may  cause  regret  to  my  friends, 
yet  no  one  can  reflect  on  the  goodness  of  my  heart 
and  the  correctness  of  my  principles." 

On  the  same  day  that  Perry  wrote  his  unfortu- 
nate letter  in  behalf  of  Captain  Elliott,  the  Law- 
rence weighed  anchor  for  Erie  with  the  sick  and 
wounded  of  the  American  squadron.  Captain 
Perry  went  on  board  of  her  as  she  was  sailing  out 
of  the  harbour,  to  take  leave  of  his  brave  ship- 
mates, and  to  see  if  anything  farther  could  be 
done  for  their  comfort.  He  had  already  taken 
every  possible  pains  to  procure  whatever  refresh- 
ments the  neighbourhood  of  Sandusky  aflforded 
for  his  own  and  the  British  w^ounded,  and  placed 
his  own  private  stores  at  the  disposal  of  the  sur- 
geon of  the  Lawrence,  by  whom  they  were  freely 
used.  Before  leaving  the  Lawrence,  Perry,  true 
to  his  generous  wish  to  save  the  reputation  of  Cap- 
tain Elliott,  requested  Mr.  Hambleton  to  desire 
the  wounded  oflScers,  on  their  landing,  to  avoid 
any  remarks  or  conversation  with  regard  to  tha 
misconduct  of  the  Niagara  while  under  the  com- 
mand of  Captain  Elliott,  and  asked  him  particu- 
larly to  caution  Lieutenant  Forrest,  who  was  to 
proceed  to  Washington  on  the  proud  errand  of  de- 
Bb 


290  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

livering  the  captured  colours  of  the  enemy,  to  ab- 
stain from  any  discussion  of  the  subject. 

The  generous  effort  made  by  Perry  to  exhibit 
the  conduct  of  Captain  Elhott  in  a  light  not  ob- 
viously unfavourable  in  his  official  report ;  the  let- 
ter which,  in  the  same  spirit,  he  wrote  at  Captain 
Elliott's  request,  to  relieve  the  anxiety  and  distress 
of  mind  under  which  he  was  suffering,  and  his 
earnest  efforts  to  influence  the  officers  under  his 
command  in  behalf  of  Captain  Elliott's  reputa- 
tion, would  doubtless  have  attained  their  object, 
and  left  that  gentleman  in  possession  of  an  envia- 
ble reputation,  had  he  been  satisfied  to  allow  the 
whole  matter  to  remain  in  the  position  in  which 
it  was  thus  left ;  but  the  efforts  which  should  have 
awakened  the  keenest  sense  of  gratitude  on  the 
^art  of  Captain  Elliott,  in  the  language  of  an  ac- 
curate observer,  "  appear  to  have  planted  in  his 
bosom  the  most  implacable  hatred."  It  will  be 
seen,  in  the  sequel,  that  this  was  not  long  in  exhib- 
iting itself. 

Before  resuming  the  course  of  our  narrative,  we 
will  here  refer  to  another  matter  of  a  painful  na- 
ture, though  connected  with  an  exhibition  of  feel- 
ings suited  to  awaken  admiration  instead  of  dis- 
gust. By  the  Lawrence  Captain  Pewy  forwarded 
to  General  Brooks,  of  Medford,  Massachusetts, 
the  following  feeling  announcement  of  the  death 
of  his  noble  son: 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      291 

"  It  is  with  heartfelt  pain  I  am  under  the  neces- 
sity of  communicating  to  you  the  irreparable  loss 
which  you  and  our  country  have  sustained  in  the 
death  of  your  gallant  and  worthy  son,  Lieutenant 
John  Brooks,  who  fell  in  the  action  with  the  Brit- 
ish squadron  at  the  head  of  Lake  Erie,  on  the  tenth 
instant,  while  nobly  animating  his  men  to  their 
duty.  His  friend,  Mr.  Hambleton,  who  is  severely 
wounded,  will  write  you  the  moment  he  is  able. 
I  sympathize  with  you  most  deeply." 

Ere  this  letter  could  reach  the  bereaved  parent, 
he  had  addressed  Perry  on  the  same  subject.  It  is 
a  characteristic  specimen  of  the  noble  patriotism 
which  animated  those  who  won  our  independence 
with  their  blood ;  of  a  devotion,  wilhng  not  mere- 
ly to  sacrifice  life  in  our  country's  cause,  but  to 
acquiesce,  with  at  least  outward  cheerfulness,  in 
the  sacrifice  of  the  life  of  a  son.  The  veteran's 
letter  ran  as  follows  : 

"  After  offering  you  my  most  cordial  congrat- 
ulations on  your  late  splendid  victory  over  a  su- 
perior British  force,  which  must  rank  your  name 
high  on  the  roll  of  naval  conquerors,  permit  me 
to  mention  my  son.  Lieutenant  Brooks,  who  fell 
on  board  the  Lawrence  during  that  memorable 
conflict.  Not  being  acquainted  with  any  indi- 
vidual in  your  fleet  to  whom  I  could  apply  for 


fi^2  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

information  respecting  my  son,  I  have  taken  the 
liberty  of  addressing  myself  for  that  purpose  to 
you.  Should  you  have  a  few  moments  at  your 
command,  it  would  be  laying  me  under  lasting 
obligation  to  inform  me  of  the  most  prominent 
circumstances  as  to  the  time  and  manner  of 
his  fall.  It  would  be  also  gratifying  to  me  to 
know  what  disposition  has  been  made  of  his  ef- 
fects, and  whether  his  arms  of  different  kinds  have 
been  disposed  of  or  are  retained.  If  the  latter,  it 
would  be  peculiarly  grateful  to  me  to  be  in  pos- 
session of  his  best  sword  and  sash  ;  the  former  as 
g  relic,  the  latter  on  account  of  its  being  the  sash 
I  wore  through  the  whole  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution. If  compliance  with  this  request  should  be 
proper  and  practicable,  perhaps  a  safe  conveyance 
to  Boston  may  offer  :  otherwise  I  have  to  request 
they  may  be  forwarded  to  my  son,  Alexander  S. 
Brooks,  who  is  a  captain  in  the  Third  Regiment 
of  Artillery,  and  is  now  stationed  at  Fort  George. 
"  The  citizens  of  Boston  are  taking  measures  to 
evince,  in  some  measure,  the  sense  they  entertain 
of  your  distinguished  merit ;  and,  should  you  visit 
our  capital,  no  one  will  greet  you  with  more  cor- 
diality than,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

"  John  Brooks." 

In  this  touching  letter,  worthy  of  the  best  days 
of  the  republic,  the  grief  of  a  father  for  the  loss  of 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      293 

a  favourite  son,  who  was  the  admired  and  beloved 
of  all  beholders,  gives  way  to  the  pride  and  exul- 
tation of  the  patriot.  That  other  son  of  whom  he 
speaks  has  since  been  numbered  among  the  vic- 
tims of  the  Florida  war. 

Captain  Perry  had  lost  no  time  in  organizing 
the  vessels  of  both  squadrons  still  fit  for  active 
service  for  the  transportation  of  the  army  under 
General  Harrison  to  the  opposite  shore.  On  the 
fifteenth  and  sixteenth  of  September  he  had  land- 
ed all  his  prisoners,  with  the  exception  of  the  sick 
and  wounded,  at  Camp  Portage,  at  the  outlet  of 
the  river  of  that  name  in  Sandusky  Bay,  whence 
they  were  to  be  marched  to  Chilicothe.  A  list  of 
these  prisoners  by  name,  to  the  number  of  three 
hundred  and  eight,  is  in  possession  of  the  writer. 

Having  thus  disposed  of  the  sound  portion  of 
his  prisoners,  and  hastily  reorganized  his  combined 
squadron.  Captain  Perry  placed  the  small  vessels 
at  the  disposal  of  General  Harrison,  for  the  re- 
moval of  his  army  from  Portage  River  and  Fort 
Meigs  to  Bass  Island,  preparatory  to  a  descent  upon 
Canada.  He  proceeded  in  person  in  the  Ariel  to 
Portage  River,  to  receive  General  Harrison  with 
his  staff,  and  convey  him  to  Put-in  Bay.  A  little 
incident  which  occurred  on  this  passage,  illustra- 
tive of  the  amiable  feelings  of  Perry,  and  of  his 
generous  sympathy  with  the  sick  or  suffering,  is 
related  by  Major  Chambers,  of  Kentucky,  then 
Bb2 


294  AMERICAN     BIOGRAPHY. 

one  of  General  Harrison's  aiddecamps.  About 
twenty  or  thirty  soldiers,  composing  the  remnant 
of  a  gallant  company  of  young  Virginians,  who 
had  joined  the  army  the  year  before  under  the 
name  of  the  Petersburg  Volunteers,  and  who  had 
been  reduced  by  battle  and  disease  to  their  pres- 
ent number,  had  accompanied  General  Harrison 
on  board  the  Ariel. 

On  the  passage  to  Put-in  Bay,  supper  was  served 
in  the  cabin,  and,  after  the  commodore  and  his 
numerous  guests  had  partaken  of  it,  they  resumed 
their  seats  on  deck  to  enjoy  the  evening  air. 
Major  Chambers  was  conversing  with  Lieutenant 
Packett,  who  commanded  the  Ariel,  w^hen  one  of 
the  young  Virginians,  whom  a  spirit  of  adventure 
had  led  to  abandon  a  Hfe  of  ease  for  the  hard- 
ships of  the  camp,  and  who  was  just  recovering 
from  severe  illness,  approached  Major  Chambers, 
whom  he  knew,  and  asked,  in  an  under  tone,  if  it 
would  be  possible  for  him  to  obtain  a  cup  of  coffee 
from  the  cabin,  saying  that  his  stomach  rejected 
the  cold  and  coarse  food  to  which  the  army  had 
necessarily  been  confined.  Being  a  stranger  to 
Perry,  Major  Chambers  felt  reluctant  to  trouble 
him  with  such  a  request,  and  therefore  explained 
it  to  Mr.  Packett.  He  hesitated  to  say  anything, 
and  the  subject  was  dropped.  But  Perry,  who 
was  sitting  near,  had  overheard  the  remark,  and 
quietly  given  directions  to  his  steward.     In  half 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      295 

ah  hour  Major  Chambers  had  the  gratification  of 
seeing  the  whole  of  the  young  Virginians  seated 
round  an  excellent  supper  in  the  cabin,  and  the 
warm-hearted  host  attending  to  them  in  person. 
Perry  had  heard  the  character  and  gallantry  of  the 
little  band  assigned  as  the  reason  for  taking  them 
on  board  the  Ariel,  that  they  might  be  under  the 
eye  of  the  general^  and  kindly  rebuted  Major 
Chambers  for  having  hesitated  to  explain  what 
accident  alone  had  revealed  to  him — the  longing 
of  these  poor  fellows  for  a  cup  of  hot  coffee. 

"This  little  incident,"  says  Major  Chambers, 
"  indicated  to  my  satisfaction  the  character  of  the 
man,  and  would  alone  have  made  a  lasting  im- 
pression ;  but  it  was  not  permitted  to  stand  alone 
in  the  catalogue  of  proofs  that  he  was  as  gener- 
ous and  kind  as  he  was  brave.  I  visited  the  cabin 
of  the  Detroit  in  his  company,  and  witnessed  the 
kindness  of  his  manner  and  his  generous  solicitude 
for  the  comfort  of  his  wounded  prisoner,  the  gal- 
lant Captain  Barclay.  I  subsequently  accompa- 
nied him  on  board  of  the  Lawrence,  on  the  morn- 
ing she  sailed  with  the  wounded  seamen  for  Erie  ; 
and  I  was  inexpressibly  gratified  with  the  feeling 
he  manifested  towards  the  poor  fellows,  the  anxi- 
ety he  showed  for  their  comfort,  and  the  evident 
pleasure  they  derived  from  his  attention  to  them. 
Many,  very  many  little  incidents  occurred  in  the 
course  of  our  brief  intercourse  to  prove  that  my 


296  AMERICAN     BIOGRAPHY. 

first  impressions  of  his  character  were  well-found- 
ed ;  his  uniform  kindness  and  sympathy  towards 
every  sufferer  from  disease,  disaster,  or  other  caus- 
es daily  occurring  in  the  army,  was  remarked  by 
all  who  had  the  happiness  of  associating  with 
him." 

The  army,  amounting  to  four  thousand  five 
hundred  men,  was  at  length  assembled  at  Bass 
Island,  on  the  evening  of  the  twenty-second. 
The  size  of  the  vessels  prevented  the  embarcation 
of  all  the  troops  at  once.  In  consequence.  Cap- 
tain Perry  had  suggested  to  General  Harrison,  be- 
fore the  battle  with  the  British  squadron — for  a  de- 
scent upon  Canada  had  already  been  determined 
on,  to  take  place  so  soon  as  Governor  Shelby 
should  arrive  with  the  mass  of  the  Kentucky  mili- 
tia— to  rendezvous  with  the  troops  at  the  Middle 
Sister,  an  island  distant  twelve  miles  from  Mai- 
den, and  then  take  advantage  of  favourable 
weather  to  move  the  whole  array  simultaneously 
by  means  of  the  squadron  and  boats.  This  meas- 
ure was  now  adopted ;  and,  on  the  twenty-third, 
the  operation  of  transporting  the  army  to  the  Mid- 
dle Sister  was  commenced,  and,  notwithstanding 
interruptions  from  bad  weather,  was  successfully 
completed  on  the  twenty-sixth.  On  that  day, 
Captain  Perry,  accompanied  by  General  Harrison, 
who  had  his  headquarters  on  board  the  Ariel,  re- 
connoitred the  harbour  of  Maiden  and  the  adja- 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  297 

cent  shores.  As  the  result  of  their  investigation, 
the  general  fixed  upon  a  point  about  three  miles 
to  the  eastward  of  the  town  of  Maiden,  or  Am- 
herstburg,  as  it  is  called  by  the  English.  The 
next  day  being  appointed  for  landing,  should  the 
weather  continue  favourable,  the  general  orders 
of  debarcation,  of  march,  and  of  battle  were  im- 
mediately drawn  up  under  the  direction  of  the 
general,  signed  by  Colonel  E.  P.  Gaines,  the  adju- 
tant-general, on  board  the  Ariel,  and  made  known 
to  the  army  on  her  return  to  the  Middle  Sister,  to- 
gether with  the  following  brief  words  of  encour- 
agement and  humane  caution.  "  The  general  en- 
treats his  brave  troops  to  remember  that  they  are 
the  sons  of  sires  whose  fame  is  immortal ;  that 
they  are  to  fight  for  the  rights  of  their  insulted 
country,  while  their  opponents  combat  for  the  un- 
just pretensions  of  a  master.  Kentuckians !  re- 
member the  River  Raisin !  but  remember  it  only 
while  the  victory  is  suspended.  The  revenge  of 
a  soldier  cannot  be  gratified  upon  a  fallen  enemy !" 
At  three  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty- 
seventh,  the  weather  proving  mild,  the  army  was 
all  embarked  into  the  boats  or  taken  on  board  the 
squadron.  This  service  being  effected  at  nine 
o'clock,  the  squadron  weighed,  and  stood  towards 
the  designated  point  of  debarcation.  At  two 
o'clock  the  vessels  anchored  in  line  of  battle, 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  to  the  eastward  of  Bar 


298  AMERICAN     BIOGRAPHY. 

Point,  and  at  the  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
from  the  shore,  with  springs  on  their  cables,  in 
readiness  to  cover  the  debarcation  of  the  troops. 
At  forty-five  minutes  after  two,  all  that  could  be 
contained  in  the  boats  were  landed  on  the  beach 
simultaneously,  and  in  admirable  order.  There 
was  no  enemy  to  oppose  them.  Information  was 
soon  obtained,  and  communicated  to  Captain  Per- 
ry, that  the  enemy  had  evacuated  Maiden,  and  re- 
tired in  the  direction  of  Sandwich,  up  the  left 
bank  of  the  Detroit.  The  squadron  immediately 
w^eighed,  stood  into  the  harbour,  and  anchored 
off  the  town,  where  the  rest  of  the  troops  were 
landed  at  five  o'clock,  soon  after  the  main  body 
had  marched  in.  On  taking  possession  of  the 
town,  it  was  discovered  that  the  enemy  had  de- 
stroyed the  fort,  barracks,  navy  yard,  and  pubhc 
stores. 

The  evacuation  of  Amherstburg  by  General 
Proctor  may  have  been  rendered  inevitable  by  the 
want  of  provisions  to  stand  a  siege.  He  had  at 
his  disposal  three  thousand  Indians,  which,  with 
seven  hundred  regular  troops  and  the  mihtia  of 
the  district,  made  him  nearly  equal  in  numbers  to 
our  army.  He  had,  moreover,  the  advantage  of 
position.  The  Indians  were  exceedingly  anxious 
to  fight,  and  two  thirds  of  them  abandoned  his 
army  when  he  commenced  his  retreat.  The  brave 
and  eloquent  Tecumseh,  with  about  a  thousand 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  299 

followers,  though  strongly  opposed  to  retreating, 
the  impolicy  and  disgrace  of  which  he  powerfully 
set  forth,  still  remained.  In  the  harangue  in 
which  he  attempted  to  dissuade  the  British  gener- 
al from  his  inglorious,  and,  as  it  proved,  disastrous 
determination,  he  certainly  took  some  very  extra- 
ordinary and  undutiful  liberties.  "Listen,  Fa- 
ther !"  said  he ;  "  our  fleet  has  gone  out.  We 
know  they  have  fought ;  we  have  heard  the  great 
guns,  but  know  nothing  of  what  has  happened  to 
our  Father  with  one  arm.  Our  fleet  has  gone  one 
way,  and  we  are  very  much  astonished  to  see  our 
Father  tying  up  everything,  and  preparing  to  run 
away  the  other,  without  letting  his  red  children 
know  what  his  intentions  are.  You  always  told 
us  that  you  would  never  draw  your  foot  off*  British 
ground ;  but  now.  Father,  we  see  that  you  are 
drawing  back,  and  we  are  sorry  to  see  our  Father 
doing  so  without  seeing  the  enemy.  We  must  com- 
pare our  Father's  conduct  to  a  fat  animal  that  car- 
ries its  tail  upon  its  back,  but,  when  affrighted, 
it  drops  it  between  its  legs  and  runs  off!  We 
wish  to  remain  here  and  fight  the  enemy,  should 
he  appear.  If  he  conquers  us,  we  will  then  re- 
treat with  our  Father." 

No  time  waf?  lost  in  following  the  retreating 
enemy.  Our  army  marched  up  the  left  bank  of 
the  Detroit,  while  the  squadron  sailed  up  the  river, 
transporting  the  heavy  baggage  and  provisions  of 


300  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

the  troops.  The  army  took  possession  of  Sand- 
wich on  the  twenty-ninth.  Here  General  Harri- 
son learned  from  deserters  that  the  British  army, 
consisting  of  seven  hundred  regular  troops  and  a 
thousand  Indians,  had  taken  post  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  river  Thames,  at  Dalson's,  about  fif- 
ty-six miles  from  Sandwich.  It  was  stated  that 
General  Proctor  intended  to  fortify  himself  in  that 
position,  and  await  an  attack.  If  defeated,  he 
could  continue  his  retreat  up  the  banks  of  the 
Thames,  in  the  direction  of  Lake  Ontario,  near 
which  it  has  its  source.  At  Sandwich,  deputa- 
tions were  received  from  the  Ottawas,  Chippe- 
ways,  Wyandots,  Miamis,  and  a  band  of  hostile 
Delawares,  all  of  which  had  abandoned  the  ene- 
my's army,  and  now  offered  to  make  peace  and 
co-operate  against  their  former  friends. 

On  the  same  day  General  Harrison  embarked 
with  General  M^ Arthur's  brigade,  seven  hundred 
strong,  in  the  squadron,  and  proceeded  with  Cap- 
tain Perry  to  take  possession  of  Detroit.  There 
were  about  a  thousand  Indians  lurking  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  town,  but  they  fled  with- 
out resistance  on  the  approach  of  the  squadron. 
Soon  after,  they  gave  in  their  submission  to  Gen- 
eral M^ Arthur,  and  agreed  to  "  take  hold  of  the 
same  tomahawk,  and  strike  all  who  were  the  ene- 
mies of  the  United  States,  whether  British  or  In- 
dians."    General  Harrison  now  issued  a  procla- 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      301 

mation,  announcing  the  expulsion  of  the  enemy 
from  Michigan,  and  re-establishing  the  civil  gov- 
ernment as  it  existed  before  the  subjugation  of  the 
territory.  This  being  completed,  he  returned  to 
Sandwich  in  the  Ariel.  In  the  mean  time,  the 
mounted  Kentuckians  of  Colonel  Johnson's  regi- 
ment had  reached  Detroit  and  crossed  to  Sand- 
wich, and,  with  them,  the  horses  belonging  to  the 
staff  and  field  officers  of  the  army. 

On  the  thirtieth  of  September,  having  received 
information  that  some  small  vessels  of  the  enemy 
were  escaping  up  Lake  St.  Clair,  towards  the 
Thames,  with  the  baggage  and  artillery  of  Proc- 
tor's army.  Captain  Perry  despatched  Captain  El- 
liott with  the  Niagara,  Lady  Prevost,  now  com- 
manded by  Lieutenant  Turner,  Scorpion,  and  Ti- 
gress up  the  Detroit  into  Lake  St.  Clair,  to  pursue 
them.  He  soon  after  followed  with  the  Ariel  and 
Caledonia,  the  latter  now  commanded  by  Lieuten- 
ant Holdup  Stevens.  On  the  second  of  October 
he  appeared  off  the  mouth  of  the  Thames,  where 
he  joined  the  vessels  which  he  had  detached  in 
pursuit  of  the  enemy's  baggage ;  they  had  been  un- 
able to  overtake  the  escaping  vessels  before  they 
entered  the  river. 

On  the  morning  of  the  third  of  October,  our 

army  having  reached  the  neighbourhood  of  the 

Thames  to  the  number  of  thirty-five  hundred  men. 

General  Cass's  brigade  having  been  left  at  Sand- 

Cc 


302  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

wich,  though  he  himself  accompanied  the  com- 
mander-in-chief in  the  character  of  aiddecamp. 
Captain  Perry  now  ordered  Captain  Elliott,  with 
the  Scorpion,  Tigress,  and  Porcupine,  to  enter  the 
river,  they  being  the  only  vessels  that  could  cross 
the  bar  at  its  mouth,  and  proceed  up  it  with  a  large 
number  of  boats  conveying  the  baggage  of  the 
army.  The  schooners  held  themselves  in  readi- 
ness to  protect  the  passage  of  the  army  over  the 
Thames  or  its  tributaries,  should  opposition  be  of- 
fered. There  were  four  streams  crossing  the  route 
of  the  army  in  its  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  which 
were  deep  and  muddy,  and  not  fordable  except  at 
points  remote  from  their  outlets  into  the  Thames. 
All  of  these  had  bridges  over  them.  Through  the 
great  neglect  of  the  enemy,  the  bridge  over  the 
first  stream,  which  the  army  reached  on  the  night 
of  the  second  of  October,  was  found  entire.  On 
the  morning  of  the  third,  the  general,  having  push- 
ed forward  at  the  head  of  Colonel  R.  M.  Johnson's 
regiment  of  mounted  Kentuckians,  fortunately  cap- 
tured a  lieutenant  of  dragoons  and  eleven  privates 
belonging  to  the  enemy,  who  were  engaged  in  de- 
stroying the  second  bridge.  From  the  prisoners 
the  general  learned  that  the  enemy  had  no  certain 
information  of  his  advance.  The  third  bridge, 
having  only  been  partially  destroyed,  probably  to 
leave  a  passage  for  the  dragoons  who  were  to 
complete  its  destruction,  when  over,  was  soon  re- 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  303 

paired  by  our  army,  which  passed  over  and  en- 
camped four  miles  below  Dalson's,  at  which  point 
it  had  been  supposed  that  the  enemy  would  have 
been  found  intrenched  and  disposed  to  offer  battle. 

In  this  neighbourhood  the  river  Thames  assumed 
a  different  character.  Its  channel  grew  narrow, 
with  a  more  rapid  current,  and  the  banks  steep, 
]oft}^,  and  wooded,  so  as  to  expose  the  decks  of  the 
vessels  to  the  Indian  sharp-shooters,  while  their 
artillery  would  be  of  no  service  should  they  at- 
tempt to  accompany  the  army  farther.  The  gen- 
eral agreed,  on  consultation  with  Captain  Perry, 
that  it  would  be  inexpedient  to  carry  the  ves- 
sels higher,  and  that  they  should  be  left,  wdth  the 
boats  and  heavy  baggage,  at  this  point,  with  a 
guard  of  infantry  to  assist  in  their  protection. 

By  this  time  Perry  had  become  so  excited  with 
the  pursuit  that  he  could  not  consent  to  remain  in- 
active with  his  vessels ;  leaving  them,  therefore, 
in  charge  of  Captain  Elliott,  he  tendered  his 
services  to  General  Harrison  as  an  aiddecamp. 
They  were  gladly  accepted ;  and,  by  the  kindness 
of  a  brother  volunteer  aid.  Major  John  Chambers, 
who  dismounted  his  servant  in  order  to  be  able  to 
offer  him  a  horse,  he  was  mounted,  and  ready  to 
set  forward  with  the  army.  The  volunteers  from 
the  army  who  had  served  in  the  squadron,  and 
passed  alive- and  unwounded  through  the  action 
of  the  tenth  of  September,  had  long  since  returned 


304  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

to  the  ranks,  and  spread  among  their  comrades  the 
most  glowing  accounts  of  Perry's  heroism  and  hu- 
manity. Most  of  the  soldiers,  too,  had  seen  some- 
thing of  him  for  themselves  in  the  course  of  the 
various  transportations  of  the  army  to  Put-in  Bay, 
the  Middle  Sister,  and  to  Maiden.  He  had  been 
able,  by  his  conciliatory  treatment,  to  do  away  the 
prevailing  idea  of  a  constitutional  dislike  between 
the  sailors  and  soldiers,  and  to  keep  them  in  a 
good  humour  with  each  other,  notvyithstanding 
their  crowded  condition  while  on  board  the  ves- 
sels, being  often  so  close  together  that  they  were 
unable  to  sit  down.  To  his  exertions  and  those 
of  the  general  it  was  owing  that  such  perfect  har- 
mony existed  between  the  two  corps.  On  this  ac- 
count, and  owing  to  the  admiration  excited  by 
Perry's  recent  victory,  aided  by  his  commanding 
person  and  the  grace  of  his  horsemanship,  which 
was  a  subject  of  universal  remark,  he  was  raptu- 
rously received  throughout  the  army,  and  followed 
by  animating  cheers. 

On  the  march  Perry  found  abundant  amusement 
in  the  odd  ways  and  sayings  of  the  Kentucky  mi- 
litia. The  exercise  and  rapid  motion,  after  a  con- 
finement of  some  weeks  on  shipboard,  oppressed 
with  responsibility  and  anxious  cares,  exhilarated 
him  greatly.  He  entered  with  sportsmanlike  zeal 
into  the  excitement  of  the  rapid  pursuit,  and  of 
the  hourly  increasing  evidences  that  it  would  result 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  305 

in  overtaking  the  enemy,  and  compelling  him  to 
fight  or  surrender;  boats  were  taken  and  their 
crews  made  prisoners,  and  the  hostile  Indians 
made  frequent  efforts  to  check  the  advance  of  our 
troops,  skirmishing  with  the  videttes,  and  picking 
off  our  men  across  the  river.  A  volley  thus  fired 
on  one  of  our  advanced  parties  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  Perry  and  Major  Chambers,  who  rode  at 
speed  in  the  direction  of  the  report,  to  see  what  it 
might  be.  A  party  of  Indians  had  fired  at  one  of 
our  advanced  guards,  and,  being  concealed  in  the 
high  grass,  our  men  did  not  return  the  fire,  but 
drew  off  from  the  bank  of  the  river  to  avoid  it. 
Having  reached  the  point  immediately  opposite 
where  the  savages  were  lurking.  Perry  suddenly 
reined  up,  and  exclaimed  to  his  companion,  "  See 
that  sneaking  rascal  crawling  in  the  grass  over 
there  !"  pointing,  at  the  same  time,  to  an  Indian 
who  w^as  in  the  act  of  taking  shelter  behind  a  tree, 
from  which  he  could  fire  securely.  At  this  mo- 
ment a  large  Indian  of  the  Shawnee  tribe,  in  our 
service,  and  known  as  "  Big  Anderson,"  who  had 
concealed  himself  below  the  river  bank  to  get  a 
shot,  rose  up  suddenly,  and,  waving  his  hand  au- 
thoritatively, cried  out, "  Go  way,  fool !  he  shoot." 
Perry  and  his  companion  took  the  courteous  hint 
and  rode  off  with  whole  skins,  laughing  heartily. 
A  march  of  eight  miles  finom  the  encampment 
of  the  previous  night  brought  the  army  to  Chat- 
Cc2 


306  AMERICAN     BIOGRAPHY. 

ham,  where  another  tributary  of  the  Thames  was 
to  be  crossed.  The  bridge  here  was  effectually 
destroyed,  and  a  party  of  several  hundred  Indians 
were  drawn  up  on  the  opposite  bank  to  dispute  the 
passage  of  our  troops.  General  Harrison,  believ- 
ing the  whole  British  force  to  be  at  hand,  drew  up 
his  army  in  order  of  battle,  and  brought  up  his  ar- 
tillery to  cover  the  party  detailed  to  repair  the 
bridge.  The  Indians,  for  it  proved  to  be  only  a 
skirmishing  party,  soon  after  fell  back,  and  our 
army  passed  over.  Near  the  bridge,  a  house, 
stored  with  arms,  was  found  in  flames,  which  were 
fortunately  extinguished.  Farther  on,  a  vessel, 
loaded  with  arms  and  ammunition,  was  found  on 
fire.  Four  miles  beyond,  two  other  vessels  were 
found  on  fire ;  also  a  large  distillery,  filled  with  a 
large  amount  of  ordnance  and  other  valuable 
stores.  The  flames  had  proceeded  too  far  to  save 
them.  Two  twenty-four  pounders,  with  their  car- 
riages, were,  however,  found,  and  a  large  quantity 
of  shot  and  shells.  Information  was  here  obtained 
that  the  enemy  were  still  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
river,  and  only  a  few  miles  ahead.  It  was  there- 
fore probable  that  they  would  be  overtaken  and 
brought  to  action  on  the  following  day.  The  ar- 
my halted  for  the  night,  the  picquets  were  station- 
ed, and  soldiers  and  officers  bivouacked  together 
in  the  field,  under  the  canopy  of  heaven,  for  there 
were  no  tents.    Perry  and  his  friend  Major  Cham- 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      307 

bers,  after  making  such  a  meal  as  the  providence 
of  the  servant  of  the  latter  had  reserved,  shared 
the  same  bed  of  prairie  grass,  with  their  horses 
picqueted  near  them,  in  readiness  to  mount  at  a 
moment's  warning. 

The  pui*suit  was  renewed  at  an  early  hour  on 
the  morning  of  the  fifth.  Their  march  now  lay 
through  a  fine  agricultural  country,  dotted  with 
frequent  and  well-cultivated  farms,  surrounded  by 
abundant  orchards,  of  which  the  fruit  was  then 
ripe.  The  peaceful  inhabitants,  harassed  and  ter- 
rified by  the  passage  of  two  armies,  had  abandon- 
ed their  dwellings.  The  general  took  care  that, 
at  any  rate,  they  should  not  suffer  from  their  ene- 
mies, and  rigorously  forbade  the  slightest  depreda- 
tions. In  a  short  time  after  the  renewal  of  the 
march,  two  gunboats  and  a  number  of  batteaux, 
ascending  the  river  with  provisions  and  military 
stores,  were  overtaken  and  captured.  At  nine 
o'clock  the  army  reached  Arnold's  Mills,  at  which 
point  was  the  only  ford  within  some  distance  at 
which  the  army  could  be  conveniently  crossed,  so 
as  to  reach  the  right  bank  up  which  the  enemy 
was  retreating.  Even  here  the  water  was  too 
deep  for  the  infantry  to  wade  without  great  incon- 
venience. The  mounted  men  hesitated  to  take 
the  footmen  behind  them  on  their  tired  horses,  and 
they  were  about  to  be  left  to  wade  or  get  over  as 
they  could,  in  a  few  canoes  and  batteaux  which 


308  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

had  been  captured  in  the  neighbourhood,  when, 
as  is  stated  by  Major  Chambers,  Perry  rode  into 
the  crowd  at  the  ford,  and,  ordering  a  footman  to 
jump  up  behind  him,  dashed  into  the  stream,  call- 
ing to  the  mounted  men  to  take  up  the  footmen 
and  follow  him.  Some  other  officers  of  the  staff 
who  were  near  Perry  immediately  imitated  his  ex- 
ample ;  and,  in  a  very  short  time,  the  whole  army 
was  on  the  opposite  shore,  in  a  condition  to  pur- 
sue its  march,  without  the  inconvenience  to  the 
foot  soldiers  of  wet  clothing. 

Eight  miles  above  the  ford  the  army  passed  a 
farm  where  part  of  the  British  troops  had  bivou- 
acked on  the  previous  night.  From  one  of  the 
enemy's  wagoners  overtaken  at  this  point,  infor- 
mation was  obtained  that  General  Proctor  had  pass- 
ed the  previous  night  at  the  Moravian  town,  an 
Indian  village  under  the  patronage  of  the  Mora- 
vians, about  four  miles  farther  up  the  Thames.  It 
was  also  ascertained  that  Proctor,  being  now  un- 
able to  escape  without  fighting,  had  halted  his 
army  a  mile  and  a  half  in  front  of  the  Moravian 
town,  and  disposed  it  in  order  of  battle.  In  fact. 
Colonel  R.  M.  Johnson,  who  rode  in  the  van  at 
the  head  of  his  mounted  Kentuckians,  soon  after 
sent  word  to  General  Harrison  that  his  progress 
was  arrested  by  the  enemy's  army  formed  across 
our  line  of  march.  The  general  now  drew  up  his 
troops  in  order  of  battle.     The  ground  occupied 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      309 

by  the  enemy,  and  the  whole  space  over  which 
the  road  passed  for  nearly  four  miles  below  him, 
consisted  of  a  narrow  strip  of  land  from  two  to 
three  hundred  yards  wide,  having  the  river  on  one 
side  and  an  impenetrable  morass  on  the  other.  It 
was  covered  throughout  with  a  heavy  growth  of 
timber,  chiefly  beech  wood,  but  was  almost  entire- 
ly free  from  underbrush.  Across  this  narrow  neck 
of  land  Proctor  had  drawn  up  his  army,  to  the 
number  of  about  seventeen  hundred  men,  having 
his  right  in  the  morass,  covered  by  the  whole  body 
of  his  Indians,  under  Tecumseh,  amounting  to  a 
thousand  warriors,  and  his  left  on  the  river,  sup- 
ported by  six  pieces  of  artillery.  The  position 
thus  taken  by  General  Proctor  manifested  great 
judgment,  inasmuch  as  the  morass  on  one  flank, 
and  the  river  on  the  other,  effectually  prevented 
them  from  being  turned  ;  while  our  army,  though 
more  numerous,  could  only  oppose  a  line  of  equal 
extent.  In  fact,  though  the  number  of  our  troops 
in  the  field  amounted  to  more  than  three  thousand, 
only  one  hundred  and  twenty  of  which  were  regu- 
lars, our  number  actually  engaged,  on  account  of 
the  want  of  space  to  form  them,  scarcely  exceeded 
that  of  the  enemy. 

General  Harrison  speedily  formed  his  line  of 
battle,  assisted  by  his  acting  adjutant  Captain  But- 
ler, by  General  Cass,  who  had  volunteered  his  ser- 
vices as  an  aid,  and  by  Perry.     It  had  been  in- 


310  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

tended  that  the  mounted  riflemen  from  Kentucky 
should  meet  the  Indians,  with  whom  they  were  ac- 
customed to  fight  in  their  own  pecuUar  manner,  and 
upon  whom  they  were  desirous  to  revenge  the  mas- 
sacre of  so  many  of  their  brothers  and  relations  at 
the  Miami  and  the  Raisin.  The  thickness  of  the 
wood  and  the  swampiness  of  the  ground  on  the  en- 
emy's right,  where  lay  the  morass,  would  have  ren- 
dered a  body  of  horse  unserviceable  in  that  quarter, 
and  subjected  it  to  certain  destruction.  There  was 
no  time  to  dismount  it,  and,  in  the  emergency  of 
the  moment,  the  general  hastily  conceived  the  idea 
of  a  sudden  charge  of  this  mounted  corps  upon  the 
British  centre,  composed  of  infantry.  Long  famil- 
iarity with  our  western  backwoodsmen  had  made 
General  Harrison  aware  of  the  dexterity  with 
which  they  ride  through  the  forests  in  pursuit  of 
game,  without  being  in  the  least  incommoded  by 
their  rifles.  He  reasoned,  too,  as  it  subsequently 
appeared  judiciously,  that  the  enemy  would  be  un- 
prepared for  so  novel  a  charge.  He  immediately 
ordered  the  advance  of  the  whole  army ;  the  cen- 
tre and  right  were  to  break  through  the  enemy's 
line,  if  possible,  and  overpower  them  at  once; 
while  the  left  was  to  await  the  attack  of  the  In- 
dians, when  in  contact  with  them.  The  army  was 
put  in  motion,  and  Colonel  Johnson  charged  at 
the  head  of  his  mounted  Kentuckians  in  gallant 
style.     At  the  first  fire  received  from  the  enemy's 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      311 

line,  the  horses  in  front  took  fright  and  recoiled ; 
a  second  volley  was  poured  in  by  the  enemy,  when, 
getting  in  motion,  the  mounted  men  broke  through 
the  opposite  hne,  and  in  a  moment  decided  the 
contest,  dispersing  the  enemy,  bearing  down  all 
resistance,  and  compeUing  him  to  surrender.  At 
the  same  moment,  the  small  party  of  regulars  ad- 
vancing on  the  right,  and  some  friendly  Indians 
coming  up  under  cover  of  the  bank  of  the  river, 
got  possession  of  the  enemy's  artillery.  Meantime, 
the  hostile  Indians  on  the  left  maintained  the  con- 
test from  the  morass,  and  under  cover  of  the  trees, 
in  a  more  obstinate  manner.  For  a  moment  they 
made  an  impression  on  our  front  line  of  infantry ; 
when  Governor  Shelby,  who  commanded  at  that 
point,  and  who,  as  General  Harrison  wrote, "  at 
the  age  of  sixty-six  preserved  all  the  vigour  of 
youth,  the  ardent  zeal  which  distinguished  him  in 
the  revolutionary  war,  and  the  undaunted  bravery 
which  he  manifested  at  King's  Mountain,"  brought 
up  a  regiment  which  checked  the  onset  of  the  In- 
dians. Colonel  Johnson,  too,  having  now  borne 
down  all  opposition  in  front,  wheeled  with  a  part 
of  his  regiment,  and,  gaining  the  rear  of  the  In- 
dians, caused  them  to  retreat  with  great  slaughter. 
In  the  course  of  this  last  onset  Colonel  Johnson 
came  personally  in  contact  with  Tecumseh.  Both 
the  white  and  the  Indian  warriors  were  already 
bleeding  from  many  wounds  received  earlier  in 


312  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

the  battle.  Colonel  Johnson,  whose  heroism  had 
carried  him  wherever  the  danger  was  most  immi- 
nent, had  already  received  no  fewer  than  five 
wounds.  Tecumseh  was  in  the  act  of  launching 
his  tomahawk  with  deadly  aim  at  Colonel  John- 
son, when  the  latter,  quicker  in  his  movements  or 
better  seconded  by  his  weapon,  brought  him  to 
the  ground  with  a  pistol-shot.  Resistance  was 
now  at  an  end,  and  with  it  ceased  the  effusion  of 
blood.  There  was  no  deliberate  murder  and 
scalping  by  our  friendly  Indians ;  and  the  heroic 
Kentuckians,  who  had  been  stigmatized  by  the 
British  as  worse  than  savages,  and  many  of 
whom  mourned  a  relation  or  a  friend  cut  off  in 
cold  blood  at  the  Miami  or  the  Raisin,  responded 
nobly  to  the  merciful  caution  of  the  general, "  The 
revenge  of  a  soldier  cannot  be  gratified  on  a  fallen 
enemy." 

The  fruits  of  this  victory  were  complete.  While 
our  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  amounted  to  but 
twenty-nine,  that  of  the  enemy  was  aseertained  to 
be  at  least  thirty-four  British,  in  addition  to  thirty- 
three  Indians  found  dead  on  the  field  of  battle. 
Six  hundred  and  twenty-six  regular  troops,  inclu- 
ding soldiers  and  officers,  were  made  prisoners. 
Proctor,  accompanied  by  forty  dragoons  and  a  few 
mounted  Indians,  escaped  the  hot  pursuit  which 
was  kept  up  for  him  by  the  superior  speed  of  his 
horses.     An  immense  amount  of  military  stores 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  313 

was  either  taken  or  destroyed  by  the  enemy  in 
his  retreat.  Among  the  most  valuable  of  the 
spoils  was  a  train  of  his  brass  cannons,  three  of 
which  were  revolutionary  trophiesj  taken  at  York- 
town  and  Saratoga,  and  surrendered  by  General 
Hull  at  Detroit.  Among  the  more  precious  fruits 
of  the  victory  were  the  separation  of  the  sav- 
age allies  of  England  from  her  cause,  and  the  re- 
lief of  our  frontier  frgm  the  horrors  by  which  it  had 
been  so  long  desolated. 

Captain  Perry  acted  an  important  part  during 
the  battle  as  aid  of  the  general.  In  his  official 
report.  General  Harrison  took  occasion  to  state, 
that  his  "  gallant  friend.  Commodore  Perry,"  had 
accompanied  him  at  the  head  of  his  army,  and  as- 
sisted him  in  forming  his  line  of  battle  ;  "  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  brave  commodore,"  added  he, 
"cheered  and  animated  every  breast."  Perry's 
was  not  merely  an  honorary  office  during  the  battle, 
but  he  strove  to  make  it  an  active  one ;  and  his 
services  were  freely  used  by  the  general.  A  little 
incident,  illustrative  of  his  activity  as  an  aidde- 
camp,  and  of  his  extraordinary  skill  as  a  horse- 
man, is  mentioned  by  Major  Chambers.  This 
gentleman  states  that,  from  the  moment  he  joined 
the  army,  his  splendid  horsemanship  had  attracted 
great  attention.  He  rode  a  powerful  and  spirited 
black  horse  with  a  white  face,  which  served  to 
distinguish  the  rider  as  far  as  he  could  be  seen. 
Dd 


314  AMEKICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

The  horse  became  very  much  excited  in  the  bat- 
tle, and  on  one  Occasion,  when  Perry  had  been 
despatched  with  an  order  from  the  general,  and 
was  passing  from  the  right  of  the  front  line  to  the 
left  wing  of  the  army,  he  plunged  into  one  of  the 
deep  sloughs  which  abounded  in  the  direction  of 
the  swamp,  and  sunk  nearly  to  the  breast.  In  an 
instant  Perry  pressed  his  hands  on*  the  pommel  of 
the  saddle,  and  sprang  over  the  horse's  head  to 
the  dry  ground.  Relieved  from  the  weight  of 
his  rider,  the  horse  instantly  extricated  himself 
by  a  powerful  effort,  and,  snorting  as  he  trod  the 
solid  ground  again,  bounded  forward  at  the  speed 
he  had  held  before  the  accident.  Perry  clutched 
the  animal's  mane  as  he  released  himself  from  the 
marsh,  and  vaulted  into  the  saddle  without  in  the 
slightest  degree  checking  the  speed  of  the  beast, 
or  touching  bridle  or  stirrup  until  he  was  fairly 
seated.  Major  Chambers,  who  witnessed  this  feat, 
was  astonished  and  pleased  at  it ;  and  the  Ken- 
tuckians,  who  were  approaching  the  enemy  at 
a  charging  pace,  cheered  the  brave  sailor  as  he 
passed  them. 

The  private  misery  which  attended  the  battle 
of  the  Thames,  as  that  of  Lake  Erie,  and  doubt- 
less all  other  battles  whether  by  sea  or  land,  gave 
scope  again  for  the  indulgence  of  those  benevo- 
lent and  humane  feelings  which  were  ever  upper- 
most in  the  breast  of  Perry.    The  Moravian  town 


OLIVER    HAZAiO?TER%^Y.      •         3Io 

was  a  settlement  of  Chrig^iaru^ed  Indians,  under 
the  patronage  of  the  missionaries  of  the  excellent; 
and  benevolent  Moravian  sect.  During  the  occu- 
pation of  the  village  by  our  army,  Perry  was  able 
to  render  essential  services  to  the  missionaries. 
Of  the  nature  of  these  services  we  have  no  other 
means  of  judging  than  by  the  following  interesting 
letter,  found  among  his  correspondence.  It  is  da- 
ted at  Bethlehem,  and  signed  by  Mr.  John  G.  Cu- 
now,  on  behalf  of  the  missionaries. 

"  Honoured  and  Dear  Sir, 

"The  directors  of  the  Society  of  the  United 
Brethren,  commonly  called  Moravians,  residing  at 
this  place,  have  been  informed  by  the  Reverend 
Mr.  Schnall,  late  one  of  our  missionaries  in  Upper 
Canada,  of  the  friendly  offices  and  generous  pro- 
tection which  you  have  had  the  goodness  to  afford 
to  our  missionaries  when  the  settlement  of  our 
Christian  Indians  on  Thames  River  was  taken  pos- 
session of  by  the  army  of  the  United  States  under 
General  Harrison. 

"  Impressed  with  the  most  lively  sense  of  grat- 
itude for  the  numerous  proofs  of  your  benevolent 
disposition  towards  our  missionaries  when  in  dis- 
tress and  danger,  the  directors  beg  leave  to  pre- 
sent to  you  their  sincerest  and  most  cordial  ac- 
knowledgments. May  the  Lord,  whose  servants 
you  have  taken  pleasure  to  protect,  be  your  shield 


316  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

and  your  exceeding  great  reward,  have  you  in  his 
holy  keeping,  and  bless  you  in  life,  in  death,  and 
throughout  eternity." 

We  are  indebted  for  the  following  additional 
anecdote  of  Perry's  amiable  anxiety  to  allay  the 
calamities  of  war,  to  the  accidental  discovery  by 
Mr.  Chambers  of  a  good  deed  which  was  meant 
only  for  the  eye  of  the  All-seeing.  From  the  of- 
ficial letter  of  General  Harrison,  it  appears  that  this 
gentleman  went  in  pursuit  of  General  Proctor  with 
a  small  party  of  officers  and  mounted  riflemen 
amounting  only  to  seven.  During  the  pursuit, 
General  Harrison  states  that  they  made  many  pris- 
oners. They  also  overtook  a  large  straggling  party 
of  women  and  children,  composing  the  families  of 
the  soldiers  of  the  Forty-first  Regiment,  which  had 
been  long  stationed  at  Fort  Maiden.  These  had 
followed  the  army  in  its  retreat  up  the  Detroit  and 
Thames,  and  had  remained  at  the  Moravian  town 
within  hearing  of  the  battle.  On  seeing  the  gen- 
eral escaping  at  speed  through  the  village  with 
a  handful  of  followers,  they  too  fled  in  great 
alarm.  At  the  head  of  this  woe-worn  group, 
who  rent  the  air  with  sobs  and  lamentations  as 
they  struggled  onward,  was  an  interesting  and 
modest  young  woman,  with  a  pair  of  twin  babies, 
one  of  which  she  carried  on  each  hip.  Mr.  Cham- 
bers checked  his  horse,  and  reassured  the  affiright- 


OLIVER    HAZARD    PERRY.  317 

ed  women,  telling  them  they  had  nothing  to  fear 
either  from  the  Americans  or  their  friendly  In- 
dians ;  and  succeeded  in  prevailing  upon  them  to 
return  to  the  village.  He  ordered  a  half-breed 
squaw,  who  was  among  the  fugitives,  to  carry  one 
of  the  twins  of  the  young  woman,  and  then  turn- 
ed to  continue  the  pursuit  with  his  comrades. 

On  the  following  morning,  Major  Chambers 
having  duty  at  the  Moravian  town,  Perry  offered 
to  accompany  him.  On  reaching  the  town,  the 
first  object  that  attracted  his  attention  was  the 
woman  with  twins  standing  in  the  doorway  of  one 
of  the  deserted  Indian  cabins.  After  some  conver- 
sation with  the  woman,  and  some  words  of  en- 
couragement as  to  the  fate  of  her  husband,  and 
having  requested  her  to  remain  where  she  was  un- 
til his  return.  Chambers  related  to  Perry  the  cir- 
cumstances under  which  he  had  found  her  the  day 
before,  struggling  to  save  her  little  ones  from  the 
apprehended  danger  of  being  butchered  by  the 
American  Indians,  or,  as  she  thought,  more  savage 
Kentuckians.  The  two  aiddecamps  separated  in 
the  village.  When  Major  Chambers  had  de- 
spatched the  business  on  which  he  had  been  sent, 
he  went  to  look  for  the  woman  and  twins,  in  or- 
der to  make  some  benevolent  provision  for  their 
comfort.  But  they  were  no  longer  in  the  cabin. 
On  his  return  towards  the  camp,  he  found  them  in 
a  cart  driven  by  a  Canadian  Frenchman.  Upon 
Dd2 


318  AMERICAN     BIOGRAPHY. 

accosting  the  woman,  she  at  once  told  him  that 
his  companion  had  hired  the  man  to  take  her 
home  to  Amherstburg,  a  distance  of  more  than 
a  hundred  miles.  "  May  God  bless  and  prosper 
him,"  said  she  ;  "  he  is  the  kindest  and  most  gen- 
erous gentleman  in  the  world,  and  has  been  an 
angel  of  mercy  to  me  and  my  poor  babes.  See," 
said  she,  extending  her  hand,  "he^  has  not  only 
paid  this  man  to  take  us  home,  but  has  given  me 
all  this  money  to  buy  clothes  for  these  dear  little 
ones,  now  that  their  poor  father  is  a  prisoner  and 
going  to  be  sent  away  into  the  States."  Mr. 
Chambers  represents  her  gratitude  at  such  unex- 
pected benevolence  from  an  enemy  as  affecting 
her  even  to  tears.  In  order  that  she  might  know 
to  whom  she  was  indebted,  he  mentioned  to  her 
that  the  gentleman  who  had  befriended  her  was 
the  American  Commodore  Perry  ;  and  she  seemed 
to  wonder  the  more  that  the  character  which  re- 
cent events  had  led  her  to  associate  with  ideas 
only  of  terror,  should  have  appeared  to  her  in 
such  an  aspect  of  gentleness  and  mercy. 

While  Perry  was  thus  assisting  to  consummate 
on  the  land  the  triumph  which  he  had  so  glorious- 
ly begun  afloat,  and  delivering  himself  up,  after 
victory,  to  the  indulgence  of  his  overflowing  be- 
nevolence, the  heart  of  Captain  Elliott  was  a  prey 
to  envy  and  rancorous  hatred  of  his  magnanimous 
commander.    We  have  seen  that  on  the  fourth  of 


OLIVER     HAZARD    PERRY.  319 

October,  the  day  preceding  the  battle  of  the 
Thames,  by  agreement  between  General  Harri- 
son and  Perry,  the  three  gunboats,  Scorpion, 
Tigress,  and  Porcupine,  had  been  left  with  the 
boats  containing  the  baggage  and  a  guard  of 
infantry,  to  await  the  farther  movements  of  the 
army,  at  a  point  where  the  river,  becoming  nar- 
rower, and  the  banks  steep  and  thickly  wooded, 
rendered  the  advance  of  the  vessels  perilous  by 
exposing  their  decks  to  the  fire  of  the  enemy,  and 
preventing  them  from  the  use  of  their  artillery. 
Captain  Elliott  had  been  left  in  the  command  of 
these  vessels.  Instead,  however,  of  remaining  at 
the  post  assigned  him,  fulfilling  its  duties,  whether 
important  or  unimportant,  like  a  faithful  officer,  he 
continued  to  follow  the  army  up  the  river,  and,  in 
fact,  ascended  to  within  three  miles  of  the  battle- 
ground, where  he  took  possession  of  the  vessels 
laden  with  valuable  stores,  which  had  been  cap- 
tured shortly  before  by  the  army.  Captain  El- 
liott thereby  not  only  committed  the  great  military 
fault  of  disobeying  the  orders  of  his  superior, 
without  the  occurrence  of  any  circumstance  not 
contemplated  by  that  superior,  or  other  assignable 
motive  than  caprice  and  waywardness,  but  he  ex- 
posed his  own  vessels  to  destruction  without  the 
means  of  resistance,  the  baggage  to  possible  cap- 
ture from  a  marauding  band  of  Indians,  and,  in 
case  of  the  defeat  of  the  army,  broke  up  those 


320  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

precautionary  measures  of  the  commanding  gener- 
al and  commodore,  by  which  the  retiring  army 
would  have  found,  at  a  given  point,  a  force  sta- 
tioned to  cover  its  retreat,  and  the  means  of  re- 
embarcation. 

While  engaged  in  this  act  of  disobedience,  the 
mind  of  Captain  Elliott  was  possessed  by  notions 
of  fancied  wrongs  from  Perry,  thu^  far  studiously 
concealed  from  the  latter,  disappointed  hopes  for 
fame,  and  venomous  efforts  to  disparage  the  too 
generous  chief  who  had  rescued  him  from  repro- 
bation.    During  this  cruise  up  the  Thames,  Cap- 
tain Elliott  lived  on  board  the  Scorpion,  com- 
manded by  sailing-master,  now  commander,  Ste- 
phen Champlin,  from  whom  the  foregoing  infor- 
mation with  regard  to  the  removal  of  the  vessels 
from  the  point  where  they  were  ordered  to  remain 
has  been  received.     To  this  officer  he  commenced 
the  wonted  story  of  his  complaints,  coupled  with 
abuse  of  Perry,  and  commendations  of  himself 
as  the  hero  of  the  day.     Still,  in  this  very  conver- 
sation, he  stated  that  "  in  the  action  he  was  so  far 
from  the  enemy  that  he  only  fired  his  twelve- 
pounders  during  two  hours  and  a  half."     The 
reason  he  assigned  was,  that  "  he  had  no  signal 
from  the  commodore  to  change  his  situation."* 
He  stated  that  "  the  officers  and  men  of  the  Law- 

*  This  admission  of  Captain  Elliott  is  substantially  read- 
mitted in  his  biography,  page  57. 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY.      321 

rence,  including  Commodore  Perry,  were  by  no 
means  entitled  to  prize-money ;"  and  still  farther, 
that  "  the  other  officers  and  men  of  the  squadron 
were  even  entitled  to  prize-money  for  her,  she  be- 
ing a  recaptured  vessel."  Scorning  this  vain  at- 
tempt to  appeal  to  his  cupidity  and  tamper  vdth 
his  loyalty,  coming,  as  it  did,  from  an  officer  so 
much  his  superior  in  rank,  and  having  for  its  ob- 
ject to  depreciate  the  fair  and  well-earned  fame  of 
their  common  commander,  Mr.  Champlin  indig- 
nantly rejected  the  idea  of  disparaging  the  mo- 
mentous share  which  the  Lawrence  had  in  the 
victory,  because,  through  her  abandonment  by  the 
Niagara,  she  had  been  compelled  temporarily  to 
strike  her  colours.  Mr.  Champlin  replied  with 
some  warmth,  that  he  knew  not  who  was  entitled 
to  prize-money  for  the  victory  if  the  commodore 
was  not.  For  himself,  he  would  scorn  to  receive 
a  cent  if  Commodore  Perr}'  was  not  a  sharer. 
Irritated  by  this  manly  opposition.  Captain  Elliott 
gave  way  to  extreme  irritation,  and  unwarily  ex- 
pressed a  sentiment  which  may  serve  as  a  clew  to 
the  mystery  of  his  whole  conduct  during  the  bat- 
tle. After  complaining  of  the  commodore's  in- 
justice to  him  in  his  account  of  the  battle,  he  told 
Mr.  Champlin  that "  he  only  regretted  that  he  had 
not  sacrificed  the  fleet  when  it  was  in  his  power 
to  have  done  so." 

Thus  at  one  time  we  find  Captain  Elliott  com- 


322  AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY. 

plaining  to  Mr.  Champlin  "  that  in  the  action  he 
was  so  far  from  the  enemy  that  he  only  fired  his 
twelve-pounders  during  two  hours  and  a  half," 
and  assigning  as  a  reason  for  this  "  that  he  had 
no  signal  from  the  commodore  to  change  his  sta- 
tion," when  the  commodore  had  assigned  him  a 
station  alongside  the  Queen  Charlotte,  told  him 
that  his  object  was  close  action,  apd  shown  him 
the  way  into  it  with  the  Lawrence ;  at  another, 
claiming  credit  for  having  altered  the  order  of 
battle  on  his  own  responsibility,  and  justifying 
himself  on  the  grounds  of  his  "  being  the  second 
in  command,  the  only  captain  in  the  squadron  ex- 
cept Commodore  Perry,  and  commanding  a  ship 
of  equal  force  with  the  flag-ship,"  and  therefore 
"  the  only  officer  that  would  venture  upon  such  an 
expedient."*    These  opinions  may  aid  in  explain- 
ing Captain  Elliott's  motives  of  action  in  his  con- 
nexion with  Perry.     Happily,  they  are  such  opin- 
ions as  are  not  likely  to  find  favour  in  the  navy. 
Few  right-minded  officers  will  deny,  that  the  fact 
of  Captain  Elliott's  being  the  second  in  command, 
instead  of  conferring  immunity  for  disobedience, 
imposed  the  duty  of  being  first  to  set  an  example 
of  subordination. 

*  Biographical  Notice  of  Commodore  J.  D.  Elliott,  page  184. 
END  OF  VOL.  I. 


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